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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1982-06-09, Page 4Pope 4 Times -Advocate, June 9,1982 Times Established 1873 Advocate. Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 a dvocate Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited IORNE EE[)1 PubIishe r JIM BECKE rr Advertising Manager BI[I BATTEN Editor HARRY DE\RIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK JONGKIND Business Manager Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 235-1331 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $20.00 Per year: U.S.A. $55.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' and `ABS' Ma.* Wigt •CNA A giant curve The ramifications ofthe recentOntario budget are just starting to sink in with members of municipal councils and other public bodies. Frank Miller eliminated many of the sales tax ex- emptions on items purchased by public bodies and the cost to those groups is going to run into the millions of dollars. The money, of course, comes from the same pockets as the other cost increases outlined in the budget, but the major problem is that Miller's added burden on public bodies comes after most of them have already approved their 1982 budgets. That suggests most will face costs not included in their budget and the result will be some significant deficits. That in turn will require additional borrow- ing at today's high interest rates and that too will have to come out of the taxpayer's pockets. It's another example of the Conservatives' "solid tradition of sound financial management". In reali- ty their own financial management is suspect and they have now thrown a giant curve ' at the .financial management of other public bodies and taxpayers in this province. Rules are for others . Ontario doctors want further bans on smoking... except that is, when it involves doctors. In what is a prime example of the "do as I say, not as. I do" approach, doctors at their convention in Toronto last week voted to urge hospitals to prohibit tobacco smoking by patients and staff. But moments earlier, they had softened a resolu- tion that would have declared that all doctors have a responsibility not to smoke on the job. They decided that doctors should only "be en- couraged" not to smoke The double standard exhibited m the decisions in- dicates that members of the medical profession are as adept at that type of thing as politicians. It's certainly reminiscent of Treasurer Frank Miller's budget in which he stated unequivocally that pay raises for civil servants would be held to six per- cent ' while at. the same time said members of the Legislature should merely be encouraged to consider the same pay increase for themselves: Seems that it's always easier making rules for other people to follow! Get message across 14 ' .The Perth County Federation of Agriculture did not ave to publicize, as it did recently, its strong sup- port for laying charges against those farmers who allow liquid manure from their farm operations to pollute the county's rivers and streams. But by show- ing its support for the Ontario Ministry of the Environ- ment in its crack -down on farmers who are suspec>sed of contributing to this kind of problem, the federation is acting responsibly and ensuring its credibility. To say this may seem obvious but it is not necessarily the course of action that is always taken by groups or organizations with vested interest. The tendency, as often as not, is for an organization to at- "There — now it's LEADED!" tempt to protect the image of its members to the point ere it ends up actually condoning, or appearing to condone, wrongful or careless practices. By recognizing the importance of proper liquid manure management and by publicly condemning the few farmers who allow their operations to pollute the county's streams, the federation of agriculture is pro- tecting the already good image which farmers have in Perth. It is also assisting the ministry of the environ- ment nvironment in getting its message across - a message which says polluters won't be tolerated. St. Marys Journal -Argus In answer to the critique Because this newspaper often assumes the role of critic in some community endeavours, it follows that it too should be subjected to criticism when an occasion arises that readers . find it lacking or unfair. That doesn't suggest that we enjoy be- ing criticised any more than those whom we criticise, but you know what they say about what's fair for the goose. However, a letter writer's criticism last week went too far, in my humble opinion to be Left unanswered and undefended. The complaint was the T -A had "almost passed over" the recent SHDHS student production of Grease and it was charged we had considered the event "unnewsworthy". The author of the letter, by inference, suggested that the only news coverage given the students was a small story on the back page of the May 19 edition which indicated merely that Grease was underway. For the enlightenment of the letter writer, and others who may have judged the newspaper on her comments, it should be explained that the coverage was far more extensive than indicated. The student who has been covering the high school beat for the T -A this past year did a story on the upcoming production in the May 5 issue. He did interviews with the directors and outlined the quality of the performers and the vast amount of work and cost involved in the production. He followed that up in the May 12 issue with another article, accompanied with a photo of some of the performers. That again detailed the work involved in the production and there were further inter- views that indicated a high-class perfor- mance could be expected from the cast. The May 19 issue did note merely that the production had started and was con- tinuing at the school and this was follow- ed up in the May 26 issue with two more pictures of members of the cast and a fur- ther story on its success with tributes be- ing paid to the performers. In short, I think the student reporter did an excellent and thorough job in marking the accomplishments of the student per- formers and their directors. His articles BATT'N AROUND with the editor certainly left little doubt as to the work in- volved and the abilities displayed. Most bewildering is the fact that the photos he took and had printed depicted both the children of the letter writer who was so critical of the coverage. The lady has offered her services as a critic for next year's high school produc- tion, but well pass on that offer. If her critical analysis of our coverage is any in- dication, the students would probably fall far sort of her expectations in their endeavours and we'll spare them from her remarks. The letter also stated that "It seems the only way for teenagers to gain newspaper coverage in this area is to commit a crim4 or be a sports star. No wonder so many of them are so eager to leave." Once again, I find at criticism just too severe and . damn !3 to let pass without a defence, although I hope most readers will recognize that a defence is not required. Last week's ( May 26) issue is probably an average sample of the manner in which this newspaper covers the ac- tivities of young people in the area and it indicates beyond any doubt that they do not have to commit a crime or be a sports star to get coverage. There were five pictures on the front page, each showing young people at various activities from watching fireworks to singing, visiting an area farm and staging -a car rally. The major portion of page two was devoted to detailing the accomplishments of the 12 students running for student -of - the -year honors at the high school and there was a further story on the Junior Farmer car rally. Page three had another picture of the kids visiting a farm and the lead editorial on page four called on area parents and adults to consider activities for young peo- ple as alternatives to the growing popularity of amusement arcades. There was a story about a young lady from the area who was organizing recrea- tion in Hensall, four photos of a group of canoeists from the high school learning the finer points of that activity. In addi- tion to the two pictures and story about the. Grease production, there was a lengthy story about a grade 13 student who had won honors in a national chemistry test and another of a grade 12 studeni who had won first place in Ex- potech at Humber College. There were stories about 4-H clubs and an announcement of the youths hired by the Ausable-Bayfield . Conservation Authority. On the other hand, only one teenager received coverage for committing a crime. * * To conclude on a more positive note, I wholeheartedly agree that the young peo- ple who performed in Grease displayed considerable talent and worked long, hard hours. I didn't see the production, but the message was clearly conveyed in the report submitted by our student reporter. Hopefully, they were richly applauded by the audience, who after all, are solely capable of doing a proper critique and on- ly on an individual basis because, similar to opinions on newspapers, it's all in the eye and ear of the beholder. Coo/ price and hot head. On a recent weekend, I got a good look at the dou- ble trouble of inflation and unemployment this coun- try has sunk into. I used to hire school kids to clean up my grounds in the spring. How fondly I recall such stalwart lads as John Jensen doing the entire job for one dollar an hour, Working like a machine, and leaving the place spic and span. A couple of times I hired girls in pairs, and they were even better than the boys, making sure there wasn't a single leaf left. Then we got into the af- fluent age. Students didn't want to work, they wanted a lot more money, and the' few who did respond to my pleas weren't any good at the job. So a few years ago, I hired a former student who'd gone into the business, with an old truck, and a helper. Joe did a good job, and his price was fair. (I might add that, with about 14 trees and a lot of bushes on the property, it's like cleaning up a patch of jungle.) But Joe went out of business, for various and complicated reasons. Another young fellow ap- plied, worked like a beaver, and nearly died of fright putting,on my big, old, wooden storm win- dows. I was delighted with his work. Naturally, I called him the following spring. His price had more than doubled, but he now had a truck and some equip- ment, so I paid, and was again pleased. . Called him this spring, and his price had gone up about 60 per cent. He wanted a cool $320, which worked out, he figured, at $20 an hour. Now I may be a bit lazy, and a little soft in the top storey, but I am not going lA pay anybody 20 bucks an hour to rake leaves. His dozen more without lifting a finger but it was Friday afternoon, so I sneaked out the back door and home to my wife, who had informed me that morning that she wouldn't live in the house one more day until I "did something" Sugar and Spice Dispensed By Smiley cool price gave me a hot. head, and I didn't even try to dicker, although the looks from our lawn- cleanedneighbours got dir- tier and dirtier as our dead leaves blew onto their greens -ward. Well, that's the inflation angle . From $120 to $320 in three years. If the young fellow can get rich, more power to him, but it won't be from me. Rather up against it, and with summer coming on, I went back to my old source - students. Didn't think I'd get a nibble. But I put a little ad in the mor- ning announcements anyway. . I didn't get a nibble. I netted a school of fish. By noon, I had five stalwart lads lined up, and by the end of the day I was beating off eager ap- plicants, of both sexes, with a club. Fourteen teenagers, 14, actually wanted to do some hard, dirty work. And I could have had a about the property. I narrowed them down to five, and Saturday was like a five -ring circus around here.,Boys arrive on motorcycles, bicycles and foot, laden with rakes and shovels, and such. It had rained all night, naturally, and was a cold, dismal day, but they went at it with a will. By six p.m., when the last one left, the grounds were rak- ed, a fallen tree removed, two neat, new woodpiles constructed, and we were left with only 15 big plastic bags of rubble to show the scene df the tour de farce. One of the kids knew another kid with access to a truck, which carried off the fallen tree and about 20 bags of leaves. The truck driver arrived with about six friends, and for awhile the back -yard 'look- ed like the annual picnic of the Unemployment Students Association. With axes, rakes, and shovels flying, it's a wonder somebody wasn't decapitated, but there was only one incident. The leaves were wet and wouldn't burn. So one of the boys, when I wasn't overseeing, nipped into my toolshed, got the can of gas for the lawnmower, and liberally doused the leaves. In the ensuing blaze, another lad, trying to beat out the flames, had about eight large holes burned in his denim jacket. The others told him that with the holes, it would " be worth twice as much, a real collector's item. There was only one catch to the whole day. My wife and Iwereworked off our feet. I kept running around the lot, trying to make sure nobody was cutting down a tree or dig- ging up our few flowers. My old lady acted as timekeeper, with a work- sheet for each boy, and it was quite a job, as they ar- rived at different times, took lunch at different. times, and left at different times. But she kept it all straight, and had a pay envelope for each. And that's the unemployment angle. Kids who would sneer at you a couple of years ago if you mentioned manual labor, are no longer get- ting those fat allowances, because many of their parents are out of work. Or maybe I'm kidding. myself. I did pay them four bucks an hour, and the Spring Prom was com- ing up the next Saturday night. Anyway, I proved that I won't pay $20 an hour for rakingeaves. Even though it cost me. $25 an hour. Judge, jury, executioner Every once in a while a couple of children on the playground will have a slight difference of opi- nion. Sometime 't leads to blows and one of the students (usually boys) will end up with a black eye or a bloody nose, at whichpoint they are sent to me fpunishment. One of the duties of a principal is.to act as judge, jury and executioner in such mat- ters - sometimes a difficult task. One day the students had jukt come in from recess and as I came into the classroom • two girls bleached -blonde, teased - to -death beehive -style Perspectives By Syd Fletcher were fighting - going at it hammer and tongs, tooth and nail. By the time I got them separated there was one very large section of hairdo adorning the fuzzy sweater of the wronggirl. The issue was ahoy. The girls had suddenly realiz- ed that the opposite sex existed and unfortunately the target was the same for each of them. horrors! I guess they should have remembered the Golden Rule. A six-year old and her four-year old brother had a differenceof opinion which finally led to blows. "Children. Children!" exclaimed their mother., "Haven't you heard of the Golden Rule?" "Yes," sputtered the six-year old, "but he did unto me first." f f - ti •