HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1982-01-27, Page 4r
Times -Advocate, January( 27, 1962
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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 EERY
Publisher
JIM BECKETT
Atherti'ing Manager
Bill BATTEN
tditor
- HARR1 DF% RIES
Composition Manager
ROSS HAUGH
Assistant Editor
DICK JONGKIND
Business Manager'
I Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario
Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386.
Phone 235-1331
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Canada $17.00 Per year: U.S.A. $55.00
C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' and 'ABC'
.s„f 4k-
Will it resolve issue?
Exeter council members may be tempted to quick-
ly jump at the opportunity to hire a personnel
. specialist to prepare local -wage policies, given the fact
the topic has been under periodic debate for ,the past
year.
However, there appears to be no guarantee that
the expense of hiring an expert will in fact end the
debates. It's doubtful if he could prepare a system
that would meet the approval of all the viewpoints ex-,
pressed by members in the somewhat heated
arguments on. the topic.
The best he could hope to do would be meet ap-
proval from the majority of council and employees,
and presumably the current policies do that because
they are still in place. .
Why spend money on comprehensive salary and
benefit surveys? That information is free.to anyone
O
who seeks it. The big problem comes in deciding
whether Exeter should be average, above-aterage or
below-average in the scale. It's still a policy that only
council can make.
Before hiring someone for a three-month study,
why not hire an expert for a day or two to review the
present policies and get an opinion on them? That may
indicate the necessity of a more expensive system or it •
may indicate with some minor changes the present
policies have merit and should be continued.
Before hiring an expert, council should realize that
when it comes to public salaries, everyone is an ex-
_ pert. Employees always think they're too low, while
the public always think they're too high.
Come to think of it, that's the way it is between
most employee -employer groups and the arguments
are rarely settled to everyone's total satisfaction.
Don't pass it on
Local landlord Doug Parker appears correct in his
suggestion that the Exeter PUC should require
deposits for services from those who rent accommoda-
tion and that the unpaid bills they may accrue. before
skipping out s>tould not be passed on to landlords.
Ther► appears to be Ito logical reason why
landlords should be responsible for bills not paid by
their tenants. Many already suffer financial losses
from that type of tenant without being held responsible.
for paying the losses of the PUC and town.
When such bills, are unpaid, the loss has to be
covered by someone whether it be passed along to
other PUC customers, ratepayers or to other tenants
by increased rents.
That, is why it appears more
egwtabiei- to require
deposits to cover the projected monthly utility bill so
nq. my ends up -covering the.loo that Alta'* incurred
by other people.
There's little doubt that the current economic con-
ditions will prompt all businesses to tighten credit and
the public domain should be no different than the
private sector in that regard.
Immersion needed
We'd like to give the Ontario Teachers' Federation
credit. Inco-operation with Georgian `College of
Applied Arts and Technology, it is presenting a French
immersion course this year.
There is a brochure explaining the course: "In
general, the aim is to induce accurate oral production
of the linguistic features of the French language."
We can presume, of course, that the aim of the
course is to teach people to speak French. Maybe
whoever put out the brochure can find an English im-
mersion course somewhere.
Grimsby Independent
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
Members of Exeter council, and local
taxpayers, shouldn't be surprised at the
fact they have a deficit to pick up for the
community park grounds development
project.
There was no guarantee at the outset
of theproject that it would be self-
sustaining and council never set any
guidelines to ensure that either.
Considering the rather loose arrange-
ment that was approved by council, they
should perhaps be thankful that the com-
mittee came as close as they did in
meeting the costs of the project. The
deficit could quite easily have been twice
amount amot recorded. given the current
state of the economic situation.
Some people may consider the com-
mittee's fund raising efforts as a bit of a
failure; others may consider it very
successful. Who's to judge other than
those who were involved and contributed
their time. effort and money?
The only criticism council members and
tax payers could have regarding the
situation is that the committee appeared
to fail in their attempt to conduct com-
pleteo
door-to-door canvass in the area.
Many people were never canvassed for
donations.
There was concern expressed last
week by one council member that
writing off the deficit could be a
dangerous precedent. However. council
had no real option. the committee
members having indicated they had ex-
hausted their fund raising energies.
Because it was in effect a municipal
project. the town is responsible for. the
costs involved and had no alternative but
to pay the bills.
The manner, in which the project was
undertaken is not a precedent in this
community either. The South Huron rec
centre was built using the same type of
format: where Council approved the
project and in effect became responsible
for the costs on the basis of a conviction
by those involved that they could raise
the hnec sary funds to get the town off
That group of enthusiasts was basical-
41.
ly successful in meeting the objective,
although it should be noted that there
were funds taken froni the town coffers
for the project.
On a percentage basis the rec centre
group came closer to meeting the objec-
tive than did the park grounds develop-
ment committee. but the two projects
differed greatly in public involvement
BATT'N
AROUND
with the editor
and interest. The need for a rec centre
was obviously seen as important to more
people than adding a new ball diamond
or erecting an agricultural building:
Unfortunately. the concern over the
deficit has perhaps overshadowed the
result of the project and the entire dis-
cussion. of course, is coming at a bad
time of year.
The deficit would not be of as much
concern if people could hear the shouts of
dozens of local people enjoying the out-
door activities at the park. which now
provides one of the best sports facilities
in the area.
The compromise reached by council
last week should be seen as a limited
vote of confidence in the grounds
development committee and hopefully
they will somehow be able to rejuvenate
their fund raising energies and raise the
$10.000 needed to complete the third
phase which they feel is important.
Hopefully. when thlwsnow melts away
to reveal what is now a minor portion to
complete on the overall project, it will
be brought to a satisfactory conclusion
•
and the efforts of the committee will be
fully rewarded and duly recognized.
As mentioned, there are parallels
between the rec centre and grounds
development projects and presumably it
is not he last time Mat Exeter council
will be approached by a group of people
acid asked for endorsement to proceed on
a project before all the funds necessary
have iDeen provided.
In restrospect. it may be safe to say
that there would be no rec centre if the
people in charge had been told they had
to have all the funds required in the bank
before the project could proceed. ' •
There ard, a number of people who
want to see something concrete happen-
ing before they will donate funds'as well.
as those who appear to take more delight
inupping on the band -wagon after it is
rolling. Their- donations. of course, are
;as necessary as those who immediately
see the need in the community and are.
prepared to make a commitment at the
outset to get the wagon rolling.
The deficit incurred by council through
the parks development project may
shake the confidence of present and
future councillors in authorizing projects
to commence before the funds are
available. but it should not shatter that
confidence to the point where they refuse
to back future projects.
Each project must be judged on its
own merits with a view -to the need in the
community. the ability of the individuals
involved fo carry it through and the
knowledge that the project will probably
never come to fruition if the gamble isn t
taken
This community enjoys the benefits of
a swimming pool. rec centre and com-
munity playground that it would
probably still be dreaming about without
the gamble being taken in the past and
the direct cost to the ratepayers for
those facilities has been small indeed in
comparison to the total capital cost.
The choice is usually to gamble or do
without' .
THIS STORE
15 HOW
METRIC
When players had dignify
Like every other red-
bloodecl<malein this coun-
try over'the►'age of four, 1
am an expert on hockey'
•any teft iblitcri4riN
Or Senior A. Or Junior A.
•- Or Junior B: Or Juvenile
C.
But you don't have to
make it all the way in
Canada to become a con-
noisseur of the game. All
you have to do is to have
been exposed to the game
since you were about
three, and it's in your
blood for life.
As a kid, I felt culturally
deprived because I didn t
have a pair of "tube"
skates. To: my great
shame, I had to indulge in
the sport wearing an old
pair of my mother's
"lady's skates" (pro-
nounced with utter scorn
by the kids with tube
skates.) Mine went almost
to the knee and supported
your ankles like a ba
marshmallows. Obvious -
1 that is the sole reason
I didn't make it to the big
leagues.
As a kid, I played shinny
on the river with some
rims who it tacotuallyproor, , latedemi-
r,
did
pro ranks. When I was in
high school, some of my
best friends were playing
Junior A.
I was brought up in a
rabid hockey and lacrosse
town. When I was a little
boy, we had a Senior
hockey team. It was made
up of local factory hands.
blacksmiths [yes. I go
back that far), and
generally good athletes, of
no particular rank or sta-
tion in life
Theyy bouaght ed
their ofor wn '
equipment. There-- was
tremendous_ s. 'vahy . the
the other 4b 'iM
country. The rink . was
jammed for every game.
We kids sneaked into the
games through the place
where they threw out the
snow after clearing the
Sugar
and Spice
Dispensed By Smiley
ice, squirmed our way
down behind the players'
bench, and fought each
other to the bone when a
senior broke a stick, and
with a lordly gesture
handed it back toward
us.
If you were lucky, you got
two pieces of hockey stick,
took it home and had your
old man splint it, taped it
up,and played the rest of
thseason with a six-foot
man's hockey stick prac-
tically tearing the armpit
out of your five-foot
frame. •
When I was a teenager.
the home town went ape
over hockey, began impor-
ting players, and iced a
Junior A club. We local
highschool guys were
devastated by jealousy
when the imports, from
such exoctic towns as Ot-
tawa. Montreal,
Bro. kville, came to town
and stole our girls away.
Mill ,e loFals t have a
c ftce.'It Vv e sion
times. We were ky if
we had the money o go to
the Saturday night movie
[two bits j, let alone take
along a girl and feed her
afterwards.
But the hockey imports
had everything. Flashyo
uniforms. Great physi-
ques. The roar of the
crowd. And money. They
got about $15 a weekfor
room and boavl and spen-
ding money.They often
had or thee dollars to
throw around; so, natural -
I they got the girls.
Dome of them are Still
stuck with them, ha, ha.
There were only eight
teams then: Toronto.
Montreal Canadiens.
Montreal Maroons. Ot-
tawa Senators, Boston.
New York Rangers, New
York Americans.. Chicago,
and Detroit.
There were probably
just as many hopeful
players. Today there are
21 or 23 or 28 teams in the
NHL. Nobody seems to
count them any more.
Well. figure it out. Take
a quart of whiskey and
add a similar amount of
Oldtimers were a little
Last week I was talking
about the 'good Old days
here in Ontario back in
the 1800s. At that time
there was so little known
about disease and what
caused it that one had lit-
tle protection against
severe illness.
In 1847. about 10.000 im-
migrants died from
cholera and typhys. while
smallpox left its.mark on
every second or third face
a few pits here, a
hideous mask there.
Ladies of fashion were
hablackpatchesto paste small
patches over their
worst pimples or scars
and call them beauty
spots. •-
Ague was spread by
mosquitoes. It gave you
chills and a high fever
that could lead to violent
shivering and death.
The most common il-
lness" probably was in-
digestion. The cure for it
was one quart of hickory
cured.
• It was the fashion for
young ladies to be pale at
Perspectives
By Syd Fletcher
ashes. six ounces of soot.
and one gallon of bo'ling
water Mix and stie fre-
quently.: At the end of 24
hours. pour off the clear
liquor Take a teacupful
three times a day.
(Probably after a dose of
that you wouldn't want to
eat anything: therefore
the indigestion would be
that time. and so they
were. Little sunshine. no
exercise. stuffy room,
tight corsets. poor diet,
and a constant huddling
over fires' and stoves
made them pale. And
they suffered a
fashionable disease - con-
sumption (Tuberculosis) -
which carried them off
water. Split the remains in
two and Add a halt . of
waterto a ch.:W t do
rouget? Not aa Whalalcey
with, water. A water with
a touch of Whiskey.
And that's why so many
once -ardent hockey ex-
perts like me just don't
bother going to games, or
even watching them on
TV, unless the Russians
are playing, when you see
a few flashes of the old-
time hockey, instead of a
group of high-school
dropouts high -sticking,
slamming each other into
the boards, pretending to
fight by dancing ring -a-
round while carefully clut-
ching each others'
sweaters so they won't be
hurt, and doing everything
but play hockey.
• Perhaps the most
sickening thing of all is the
great hugging and kissing
and dancing that takes
place when one turkey
has scored a goal by
shooting toward the end of
the rink and having the
puck go in off a team-
mate's stick - pure
accident.
It's O.K. I don't
-necessarily want to go
back to the days when
players had some dignity,
and didn't have to pat
each others' bums all the
time. Nor do I want them
reduced to the sort of
wage slavery they en-
dured years ago.
But please spare me, on
the sports pages from
their constant whining,
tantrums, hurt .feelings,
and never-ending interest
in the big buck.
rank
right and left.
To top if off (quite
literally) fleas and lice
were everywhere. Beds
hoce
were friends fleas. with friends ofevenall, ren
in the tall. white -
powdered hairdos of the
rich women. At church
services and other
meetings. it was common
to see a lady take a thin
bone skewer out of her
delicately prod the urse or muf( and
more
troublesome 'beasties'
under her elegant hairdo.
Even among the rich
folk, hot baths were taken
only as a medical treat-
ment. People thought that
warm hs were
dangerous b if t taken less
than three hours after
meals.
It must have been a Tit-
tle 'rank' at public
meetings.