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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1981-11-11, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, November 11, 1981 • VattefAW imes - " dvocate Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited TURN[ TIDY Publisher lltil BECKE FT Ad‘ertrsrng Manager Lest we forget Remembrance Day Dovil 6111 BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAl1(;H Assistant Editor DICK JUNGKIND Business Manager Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 235-1331 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $17.00 Per Year: USA $35.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' and 'ABC' poppies blow , Ids the p r°w . Flanders Fields row on the sky 1n the crosses and �n fly , la singing Between emark our place, below • That larks still brad the guns ago, The heard a�' ort day 's glow, Scarce dead, short v sunset a lie We gree dawn' saw t now w W e lives' felt e loved' by and were e. ID Flanders Fieldre\ with t" throw va s high our with failinge yourswho died, Thytorch, bfa th with vs h poppies gr°w If ' e br eak sleep, thov� we sh Fields. In Flanders Explore some avenues In view of the collapse of the building industry, the requirement for a full-time building inspector in Ex- eter is in question. Building permits have dropped to almost a quarter of what they were when the position was elevated to full-time status a few years ago and there is certainly nothing on the horizon to suggest there will be a quick turn -around in the situation. It is a matter to which council should direct some attention and it appears to be an opportune time in +CNA view of the need for some part-time staff replacement at the rec centre and as the local crossing guard. These are positions that could possibly be worked into the schedule of the building inspector and would appear more satisfactory than returning the position to a part-time basis only as the current work -load would dictate. There may be other avenues to explore as well as council faces the challenge being dictated by restraint and a sagging economy. Deal could backfire In announcing the $650 million expenditure to ac- quire 25 percent of the shares of Suncor Inc., Premier William Davis defended the deal as being an avenue by which Ontario would have "a window" into the oil business. However. the arrogant display of the government in not releasing pertinent information on the transac- tion suggests that it is a window through which they alone are permitted to look. It is not the elected members of the PC party who have expended the $650 million. The bill is being picked up by the taxpayers of this province, and they have every right to the information required to ascertain whether their elected government made a wise deci- sion. There is a suggestion that the reluctance to divulge the information leads credence to the assess- ment of opposition members and financial experts, that it was not a particularly favorable deal for the On- tario taxpayers and may have been nothing more than a political maneuver to enhance the position of the government. Unless the government can prove their critics wrong by providing information that will substantiate their claim that it was a good deal, it is a political move that could well backfire. Big waste of taxpayer There are a few meetings at which area municipal councils aren't asked to support a resolution from some other council on a range of topics as diverse as one could imagine. Just last week. for instance. the Township of West Nissouri circulated a resolution calling on the provincial government to ensure that further foreign export of electric power from Ontario Hydro he halted. Regardless of the merit of such resolutions. it is time that municipal councils throughout the province realiz- ed that the circulation of them is a great waste of taxpayers' money. with the possible exception of matters that re- quire some immediate attention. Each year those same municipalities write a cheque for membership in an Association of Municipalities and they then send delegates to the convention at which time resolutions can be dealt with by the representatives of all municipalities in the province. The cost of circulating resolutions is enormous and will become even more significant when the new postal in- creases take effect. There have been estimates that the cost of circulating a petition to all municipalities costs in the range of $400 or $500. considering the clerical work of the staff involved in the circulation, postal rates, etc. But that is just the tip of the iceberg! • The resolution when presented to Exeter council was photostated, taking up two pages of the printed agenda. Had they endorsed the resolution, it called for them to send letters to that effect to the Premier William Davis, Ontario Hydro chairman Hugh Macauley, their local MPP. Liberal leader Stuart Smith, NDP BATT'N AROUND with the editor leader Michael Cassidy and finally one to the Township of West Nissouri. That's a total of six letters that have to be written and mailed, and if the nor- mal procedure is followed, each of the recipients will in turn write back to each council verifying that the resolution has been received and is under considera- tion. When you multiply that by the number of municipal councils in Ontario, the cost of circulating resolutions is staggering. Much more economical is to have the original council forward their resolu- tion to the Association and have it includ- ed on the agenda at the convention. If that Association carries any weight at all, the results should be just as effec- tive. Perhaps one of the councils in this area could be encouraged to present a resolution for the next convention put- ting a stop to the waste of time and money money involved in circulating resolutions throughout the year. It would rove a great cost saving for taxpayers. • . Speaking of costs for taxpayers, several area municipal councils will have to take a close look at their tax collection due dates in view of the deci- sion by both boards of education in Huron in moving to collecting levies on a quarterly basis. The move, of course, is designed to reduce the amount of borrowing charges the boards will face in meeting current expenditures until they receive the levies from the municipalities. For those communities in which tax- es are now collected only semi-annually, the cost of borrowing funds is shifted from the board of education to the municipality. Hay Township learned last week that the shift could end up costing them $9,- 700, unless they follow suit and move to a quarterly collection of taxes from their ratepayers. If current interest rates continue to prevail, and there is no indication that they'll fall to any appreciable degree, that becomes a sizeable item in the township budget and it can only be described as "lost" money. Nothing productive comes out of the expenditure. It is that fact which should prompt all councils to change their tax collection procedures. It is an unwarranted ex- pense for those ratepayers who can meet quarterly payments. For those who can't, it comes out of their pocket one way or the other through interest charges. - "That Pepin's gone too far this time!" Life a cultural wasteland? Is your life a cultural wasteland? Do you do the same old things, talk to the same old people on the same old subjects all the time? Are you scared to take a risk, smile at someone you've never seen before. do something the neighbours will mutter about? Do you want a decent tombstone, not flashy, but dignified? Of course you do. You're a good Canadian. You believe in personal decorum, censorship, the family as a unit, and capital punishment. On the other hand. Do you go for a swim at mid- night, sing a song at dawn, smoke marijuana, drink fairly heavily, march in protest parades, live in sin, abhor cen- sorship and capital punishment, and contrive to do something that will offend friends and neighbours. Of course you do. You're a good Canadian. You believe in individual liberty, acid rain, dirty movies and sexual irresponsibility. It doesn't matter which group you belong to, or whether you're somewhere in- between, you all have much in com- mon. You despise the govern- ment, but won't elect an alternative, since you despise it even more. You are caught by inflation and high interest rates, whether you are a 60 - year -old farmer trying to keep the place going, or a 20 -year-old punk trying to maintain his habit. You are basically anti- American, though if you were asked why, you could not give an answer that was articulate. You feel frustrated, in this land of wood and water, not to mention nuclear power, because, if you are getting on in years, you see everything eroding around you, and if you are short in years, you see nothing but a stone wall between you and your aspirations. You wonder vaguely, if you're old enough, what became of the Canadian dream: "The twentieth Sugar and Spice Dispensed By Smiley century belongs to Canada. ' And if you read the papers and analyze the news, you realize that, while Canada still has a high standard of liv- ing, we are very low on the totem pole when it comes to production, strikes, economic stabili- ty, peace, happiness and goodwill toward men. If you're very young, you don't give a diddle. There's lots to eat, warm clothes, and the old man will kick in a decent allowance so you can feed the slot machines with their war games. But if you're a young adult, just about ready to launch into "real" life, you're so bewildered about unemployment, and escalating university fees, and the increasing shadow of the computer, and the wealth of choices of a future (all lacking in security) that you can become so depressed you drop out, or dive into a stream and fight against the current. This isn't a doom and gloom column. It's mere - ly a look at our nation to- day. It is so rife with suspicion, fear of nothing much, anger over nothing much, that we are becom- ing paranoid. From the Prime Minister, through the head of the Bank of Canada, right down to your local alderman, you have lost trust, and feel that the ship is heading for the reef with nobody at the helm. This is nonsense, of course. Canada has been going through this miasma ever since 1867, and before. Maybe the guyat the helm is blind- folded, and maybe we have scraped a few rocks, but the ship's bottom is still sound, and we haven't hit the big reef yet. If we do, we can always scramble into the boats, and become the new Boat People of North America. We've had the French- Canadian separatism thing with us for generations, John A. MacDonald almost put the country on the rocks, financially and political- ly, but he dared to take a chance, and had vision. We survived a terrible depression, and came out smelling of roses (and the stench of our dead young men), in two world wars. Cheer up, you dour, gloomy Canucks. When you have to settle for one meal of ground wheat a day, and have to huddle around a charcoal brazier to keep warm, then you can whine, though few will listen, just as few of us listen to the people of the world who are doing just that. right now. Forget about the Yanks. If you don't like their culture invading us, turn off your TV set and get out your eskimo car- vings. The Yanks won't invade us physically. Unless they have to, and there's not much we could do about that. If you can't afford your mortgage increase, you were probably over- extended in the first place. Get rid of that monster. with its swim- ming pool and rec room and pitch a tent. Preferably in the local cemetery, to suit your mood. Pull in your belts. Dump that extra car, the boat and the cottage. If you look at it objectively, they're just a big pain in the arm anyway. Walk to work. Take a bus to the city instead of your gas -gobbler plus parking fees. Learn to do your own elementary plumbing and electric work at night school. Ladies. Get the knitting needles out and make lots of shawls, sweaters, scarves and wool socks. You did it for the troops overseas. And god -awful itchy and ill fitting some of them were, but they kept us warm. Stop spoiling your children with allowances. Let them earn their own money through odd jobs, or do without. Let's stop grumbling, and get back to a spartan, rewarding life, where ideas are more important than physical comfort. After you, he said. Refusing to be lonely Loneliness is not fun. A very few people in this world opt to be alone. They get jobs as light - housekeepers, as trappers in the far north on some isolated trap - line, or simply refuse to see people unless it is ab- solutely necessary. Most people in this world choose to live in communities. Even here in southwestern Ontario where the population is relatively small and rural in nature, people try to be associated with others in some way, be it through social clubs, public ser- vice organizations or church groups. There seems to be a basic need in us to have a chance to converse with someone else, to be involved in recreational and other organized activities. In my small town, there are a large number of that, people are still lone- lyThey choose to ignore Perspectives churches, all quite active, four or five service clubs, night school classes, dances, a Royal Canadian Legion, euchre parties in the winter, manysporting events, and all sorts of planned activities which people can join into if they have the interest and motivation. Yet in the midst of all By Syd Fletcher all the opportunities that exist around them to be of service to the communi- ty, and refuse to enrich their own lives by helping others. One couple that I know are just the reverse. They are both retired now. Both of them are not real- ly that well in body, and they could be filled with self-pity about all their aches and pains. However, they refuse to let that fact slow them down too much from en- joying life to the fullest. She drives to London each week to sing in the Four Counties choir. As well, she is an active member of the W.M.S. She takes time out to visit a couple of shut-in friends each week, realizing that she might well be In the same situation in a few years. He too, has a busy weekly schedule. In the summer it's a large gar- den and in winter he works in his carpenter shop. In his service club his views, as a longstan- ding member, are sought after, and respected. Neither of them are bored. Neither is lonely.