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Times-Advocate, 1981-12-16, Page 4• Pam 4 Times -Advocate, December 16, 19.1 imes- Ttme Established 18'3 Advocate Established 1861 Amalgamated 1924 f i D P..h ;01gamommiampf dvocate Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by 1.W, Eedy Publications Limited BILL BAT1 f 1 ROSS HAVGH Editor As.l.t.int Editor HARRY DE \ R i Composition is;.•fl t �' DICE. )ONGKIND Ru.ines. Manager Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mai 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' Know where you live Imagine that your house is on fire. or a relative has just suffered a heart attack. Now imagine that you have to give someone instructions on how t.ore.ach your home under those trying circumstances. Giving directions to people is not easy at the best of time. It becomes more difficult under pressure and in particular when the person receiving the instruc- tions is using a telephone and can't see your hand signals. Fortunately. emergency personnel have maps at their disposal to help them identify a location. but valuable time can be lost if they have to spend time studying that map to fill in details that were not given by the caller. Because most people are victims of some type of panic under an emergency situations. it is imperative that they plan ahead on how to relate their location. the best route to take and how to identify the house when help gets there. The simple solution is to write down those instruc- tions on a piece of paper and put it beside the telephone. It then becomes a matter of reading it off. Nothing is missed. Valuable time is saved. In some instances. such as when babysitters may be involved. it is imperative. Do it today. Don't blame weather Winter weather gets the blame for a lot of ac- cidents. But. according to the Ontario Safety League. the real culprit in most cases is the driver who fails to adjust to cold weather problems. Here are some of the causes of winter wrecks and the defensive driving measures used to avoid them. "Too fast for conditions" is all too frequently listed as an accident factor. When the road is slippery you can't stop as quickly or as safely Lower your speed when the road surface is hazardous. The Ontario Safety League states that you should stretch your following distance to even double or triple the usual road interval. Abrupt turns. lane changing and sudden accelera- tion or deceleration can cause bad skids on ice and snow. Anticipate turns or speed changes and make them slowly and gradually. Limited visibility is a major problem.A driver who scrapes only a little peephole in his ice -covered windshield is asking for it. Clear your windshield com- pletely of ice and snow and keep it that way. Also, scrape outside mirrors clear. Be sure your defroster is in good shape. Poor traction has caused many a crackup. Check tread wear on your snow tires and keep them inflated correctly. Tire inflation should be checked more fre- quently during winter months to be sure pressures are at recommended levels; cold weather reduces tire pressure approximately one pound every 5 degree celsius drop in temperature. There's only one trick to winter driving. according to the Ontario Safety League... take it slow and easy. from start to stop' Keeping those secrets The governments of Ontario and Canada. we know. are almost paranoid about their secrets. And. of course. it isn't much different south of the border. A few weeks ago in Washington. the White House gave reporters details of its new strategic weapons policy hours before it was officially released. on the Gond:t.i:►n they didn't let the story out early. This admonition was even passed along to a reporter from Tass. the Soviet news agency. The Man from Moscow got the same warning: • .Dont even tell members of Congress. • Washington. Ottawa: Queen's Park : They all keep their secrets from the strangest people. Surrounded by law breakers V erinesdav a: 4 02 p.rr The snow taliinc firt•where I rook the -•e are :)f'nnlf h~'':using the law Where WI thf ; tool nu; rm window 1 see that ^'"e~' PWhfr n- occupant of (: hutiding or �l<sir �' hn-ween Ciidiet and Simcnf is ir. n' t`t'ti v. :4 IRE: ".'her( is STIr,v :,t :hei' sloewalIs.--onirulyt 'h�~f ;,i:r Snow nr thf Sidewalk nut - ::df -ri' t:,wr ; admin(stra:Inr• office .4ea-rt •1i`:h'.'- afield ShnwS therf• is ,::,c !;nnv it •••0n: of :hf munlr i);,1!t PTI^( lin~:r' ..rl:crofts therf is !Vet :nr v 1t -n' slut wall 'r(►n:Ing t_hf •nv•nec hnw'lint Urger. FV •" re- ."tie:'1 :ha' n"v IwiPv u; \It iii?t'f MISSYC sflrtle:t)111F :r 're . arr surrounded ht iau "r r1i f' ' 'ler th1)5f why makf thf taw :)-•aging i'. s:atec that nwne-F and. ) mates ;I`f »e(1111'•f C tr ^lea' Pv:at ;Ill(-erIJi"• 4i1r`w atIC I:'f :'•nit SI(If'V:i,1F V.'he-f arf thf shnveis an: "•:i:)^ -s' :If ttlf" nn' »ealizf the', art `l••rai:,nt :le ' n~ntiah" nie :hi ;art is tart ;,isr -eah7f that. the,. car ' nnssib!y adtv•••' 'r stet • :rapt -Ulf. Suet. M irlK 1 :ti' 31.1V •1►el' IS -Idiruinus and while ft! moren' n'u'' t)f vin--thwhilf r: is nn'. "ton-.•nat►If Ir its n" e_'-erl: roar. because nTtln,ain:'f !- ''l ua11r ImrH)ssiblf. nf'V ""tlu-sd<'t ;i• 1 51 L.n, an i. :U V v•`Ite• ".'h^~f thf n(It snow flu -rt .1 '11! al• •nv ea -1t •hi'•ds h8vf het!? :111' ilei( `nnl! .tit~CT:'.tICF o: sidewalk tient herr 4hn'f'Ile('i None eta' SLIrree(Ie(. I1 nn1111^try' :Nearing thf sidewalk n' ;nry ',`f :het. as guilt'. as tl(nf+f why 1i !1Jf nn• ''e• annul -e( nr thf RCf'n f tr clear the small accumulatior of snow that has arrived since vesteri2v at 4 02 There ►s• still snow or the sidewalk in 'ron; of the municipal building the library and howling green Tnwr. of- BATT'N AROUND with the editor 1c•ials are not exemniar' it their leadership lr addition to being un^nt r:•ec,hle. the 'WV bylaw appears tf nir :tit corpora- -10r it a rather dangerous nos►:(nn as it pertains to giving nntifici,:ior tr. those win fail to adhere tri thf -uses 1' calls for charges tr h ,aid if owners re occupants do not rernnvf snow or ice Within 24 hours of hemp. nnaf lee u, do so it srtttatinns where Inver officials deep snow or ire ti he hazardous a 24- tlnur notice to remnve sane lef)vess those Tnwr nff;rials open to Ivy suits if In tact some person is mitre( :trough the hazardous situaUnr heromin( ( reality 11 less thar. the 24 hours. ,• e`tainik if snmethinj mune to he hazardnus giving a 24-hnu• notice to rec- ' i't :he situation is no; ver' nru(ient It should he rectified immediately Ir ordering that thf hazardous Situa- tion must be rectified within 24 hours. town officials are M fact saving that there is no imminent danger and the courts could possibly rule that they have accepted responsibility for the situation during that 24-hour period By decreeing that owners and oc- cupants of buildings must remove snow and ice. council may also have succeed- ed in placing those people in jeopardy of law suits that may arise from them not following the order of the law As a glance nut the front window proves. it is impossible for people to completely rid the sidewalk of snow and we without a great deal of work. Some dans it is almost constant wori.. placing an undue burden or, busy shopkeepers and their staff. The bylaw. unfortunately may put Main St owners, m a rather p-ecarious position in terms of law suits arising out of accidents. Even successfu, defences can he costly in terms of legal fees and time There Is. of course. a solution. That is to repeal the bylaw and follow the prac- tice that has been carried or, by most Main St property owners in the designated area for several years. . The vast majority have always under- taken the task of removing snow and ice from the sidewalks in front of their stores There has never beet. any great need for laws coercing then, into such action Bylaw. No 41. 1981 mar do more harm than gnn(1 It shnuid he reviewed by coun- cil "First buffalo — now iron horse disappearing." A crusty, old bachelor Sometimes, when my family gets particularly active, another word for manipulative, I wish I were in a shack up north somewhere, smoking my pipe. reading my old favorites. communing with nature, and quietly and philosophically fac- ing the only sure thing in this world: death. These moods don't last long. and they are not in- dicative of deep depres- sion. I'm not a wrist - slitter or a pilltaker. I'm just a poor old guy, slogg- ing lob - ing away at his daily chores. caught in the web of a nutty family. My daughter. after eight years of alternating between having babies, collecting degrees, and moving from one sleazy place to another. seemed to have reformed. A little over two years ago. she got a job. teaching in Moosonee, one of the armpits of Canada. But the money was good. she enjoyed her work. and she swore, "I'm never going to be poor again." That sound- ed pretty good to me, hav- ing bailed her out on half a dozen occasions and spent a godly few thou- sand on tuition fees. liv- ing expenses. baby presents and such. She was offered a department head's position. accepted it. and seemed ready for another year in the north. Three weeks later she informed us that she was quitting the teaching game. moving to Hull. Quebec. and looking for a job. Three months later. she's poor again, and hasn't a job. That's about standard in our family. My son is equally im- pervious to the fact that we live in a capitalist society Perhaps that's not quite accurate. But he doesn't exactly ooze with the work ethic. He's not afraid of work, but he's an idealist. That, and 40 cents, will buy you a cup of coffee in this country. At present, he works two nights a week as a waiter in a classy restaurant. Makes good money. but working more at that would cramp his other life. On the side, he treats people with reflex- ology. a type of massage. Sugar and Spice Dispensed By Smiley at $25 a rattle. So he's not broke. But he rents a piano. takes lessons in music composition and jazz, and recently forked out *500 for a course in healing people. All he wants is about ten thousand bucks to go back to Paraguay. buy some land, build a centre for the dissemina- tion of Ba -ha -i and heal- ing by natural methods. When he has money, he blows it. Expensive gifts (to his parents long- distance calls. but buys his clothes at second-hand shops. Recently gave us a beautiful book. and a week later applied (to us) for a $300 loan. interest to be paid. He was "a little short." Only after the cheque was written and gone did we find out what for to visit an old friend in a hospital in New Jersey. I wept a little, but not for long, I'm insured. One thing about Hugh. He brings us interesting guests. The last one was a diviner. 84 years old, as spry as a cricket, and full of either super -sensitivity or you -know -what. This octogenarian's name is Campbell. I never got his second name because he never stopped talking or divin- ing. He'd brought his divining -rod with him. and went dowsing around the house. He discovered that there were six streams flowing under our house. sending off radition that was mak- ing my wife insomniac. Immaculately dressed. he'd flop on the floor in his expensive gray flannel suit, assure us that you had to sleep with your head to the east, leap up, and do some more dow- sing. Claimed he could find water. minerals (oil for all I know). Then he and Hugh went out and pounded stakes into the ground at strategic spots around the house, to destroy the radiation (I think ). Campbell was in both world wars. slogged it out on a prairie farm in the depression. worked in mining. and is all set to take off with Hugh for Paraguary. "just for the hell of it." He's a little deaf in one ear. a little blind in one eye. and just plain little. about five feet six But he's full of ginger and has more interest in life than the average 16 year old. Then. of course, there's my wife. Time and again she has laid it on the line: "No more money to those kids. They've been bleeding us for years.,• • Then comes a woeful phone call or a down -in - the -mouth letter, and all her resolution flies out the window. Or down the phone line. She thinks nothing of *100 a month . long-distance bills, when the "kids". 34 and 30, need help. Last weekend she phon- ed my daughter three times. told her she was coming to visit, to take her out to dinner, to take her to a super hair- dresser. and to buy her a new wardrobe. Then she asked me if I could scratch up a grand. And I don't mean a grand piano. We have one of those. And yet 1 hope she carries out her promises (threats?) It would be worth a cool thousand, which I don't have, to get the old lady off my back for a week, buck up my daughter's morale. im- prove the grand vs' manners, and crash :he daughter into aob as head of the CBC or something. which my wife is not incapable of doing when she gets roIl- ing Just today comes a letter from a nephew in Costa Rica. telling me his. mother's estate isstillnot settled. even after my in- terveniton. and that he thinks he's being screwed by a Toronto lawyer• who refuses to answer the bov's letters. So I have to dig into that one and do some bullying or threatening. My ' incle Ivan is still the patriarch of the family, at 90. I don't want to be the patriarch of the fami- lv. 1 just want to be a crus- ty old bachelor, etc.. etc. Flood of festive parties Christmas is upon us again.and like every year there seems to be the same incredible flood of concerts. staff parties. and of course the weeks of shopping From the number of people in the department stores and the constant line-ups at the tills. 1 sometimes wonder about all the dis- mal reports that the newspapers have been grinding out all the vear. If times are asdesperate- ly bad as they would have us believe. I would think that the stores would be empty, that people would be saving every cent just to survive. No. 1 don't think that Canadians. mi the whole. are hurting too badly vet. We may do lots of complaining but down deep we know that things could be land may be vet) worse of the constitution. Perhaps 1 don't agree with evevrthing in it but at least the man stuck to iliP)b 1..-- Perspectives By Syd Fletcher \4010k04 Since Christmas is a time for giving, I thought I would give out a few rocks' and 'roses' for performances over the last year. A rose to Pierre Trudeau for struggling through with repatriation his puns and pushed it through despite tremen- dous opposition. A rock to the chartered banks who maintain that they have just as much desire to see low interest as anyone and then post 50 percent profit margins at the end of the last quarter. A rose to all the farmers who see their farms disappearing right under their feet despite all their efforts to sur- vive A rose to all the volunteers who spend time with shot -ins in programs such as Meals - on Wheels. A rock to those who are full of self-pity even though they still bxve gond health and the tip- portunity to share a Milk with others (and never de It). A rose to those who think of the true "kite Christmas and put it bite practice.