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Times-Advocate, 1982-06-16, Page 27fill Jedc Riddell MPP Two weeks ago I wrote my weekly column concerning the uncontrolled expansion of Ontario Hydro and the effects that this is having and will have on electricity rates in this Province. This past week further evidence has surfaced justify- ing many of these concerns. Ontario Hydro, the largest corporation public or private in Ontario, presently accounts for a long-term debt of- over 815 billion and represents the maximum amount of money the Province borrows on the public markets. Their public borrowing cur- rently stands at 82.6 billion a year and represents the entire credit limit of the province of Ontario, allowing the govern- ment little flexibility should it need to boirrow money for its own purposes: In fact, in 1983, Ontario Hydro is planning to borrow in short term debt because it has exceeded its long .term financing re- quirements. This will cost us $3 million extra. Moreover, over 40 percent of our electricity bills current- ly goes to paying off Ontario Hydro's interest payments on this accumulated debt. Ontario Hydro's expansion program is completely unrelated to declining elec- 4111. Water-skiing starts f JlaCh J joitingo Expansion, borro win 9' affects hydro rates Wiest demands. While -elec- trical demand has increased less than 1 percent per year in the last 5 years, it's head of- fice bureaucracy has mushroomed by 39 percent during the same period and is forecast to increase by 392 in 1983 over forecasts in 1982, to 7,935. Ontario Hydro's public relations staff of 120 is almost the size of the, entire staff of the Ministry 'of Energy. In terms of head office space re- quired for employees, the growth has been more spec- tacular still. Hydro currently . owns and occupies over 5 buildings and leases -2 more amounting to over 1.6 million square feet of space, in some of the most expensive real estate in the Province. Huge costoverruns are be- ing experienced at every generating plant under con- struction. ' The Darlington Nuclear plant has increased in estimated cost from $4 billion to 810 billion; the Pickering B plant : has gone from an estimate of $1.4 billion to a $3.7 billion estimate; on Bruce "8" the cost estimate has increased from $3.6 billion to $4.5 billion. Evidence presented to the Ontario Energy Board con- cerning Ontario Hydro's planned 14 percent electrici- ty rate increases for 1983 show that they have budgeted for an average 22 percent pay increase for its top executives in spite of the Treasurer's statement contained in the Budget of holding pay in- creases for senior civil ser -- Mary's musings By Mary Alderson You can sing songs about those lazy, Italy, crazy, days of summer but to those off -us who live along the Ausable River Cut, the coming of sum- mer simply means another waterskiing season. For the wet suit crowd 'the season is well underway, and many of Us find ourselves obsessed with watching for good water- skiing weather. Waterskiing is easy, there's really nothing to it. But get- ting up and out of the water, now that's the hard part. But once you learn to "get up". you never forget how. In fact, both skiing and get- ting up out of the water are simple feats compared to driving the boat to pull a skier. Especially if that skier happens to be my husband. Now my husband says that I'm the best driver that he has ever skied behind. But I cer- tainly don't let such praise go to my head. For awhile I may be the best driver that has ever pulled him, I am still far, far from perfect. You see, just once I would like to drive the boat with him behind, without getting a garbled interpretation of his jumbled hand signals from ttie poor unfortunate person who opted to be our "spotter". Waving hands meaning speed up, slow down, go left, go right and turn in a circle are common during one short ski trip. And while i am piloting the boat, I don't dare take my eyes off the water in front of me. A sharp eye must be kept for other boats, swimmers, skiers, fishing lines and dead heads ( logs or stumps just below the water's surface). So of course I don't see how my husband is doing on his one ski behind. I am forced to re- ly on the spotter's version of his frantic signals. Once we arrived at our estinatioh, and his ski trip is ver, i am given a play -by - lay of all my mistakes. ither i gave it too much hrottle here, or I didn't stay ar enough away from the ank there. We have yet to ake a perfect trip. But as i said before, despite y imperfections in handling the craft, he still insists that I do a job more to his liking . than anyone else. An inex- perienced skiboat driver will slow down at the wrong times causing a skier to sink to his knees, and then take off with a jerk, causing the skier to break his arms. And, as a part owner of the boat, I am reluctant to turn the steering wheel over to someone else. While I may be something of a nervous driver, I am even more nervous with someone else driving who doesn't know our boat's capacities, nor the scattered shallow sand bars of the river. Actually, I am not nervous about my driving abilities. It's all those other people out there that make me nervous. Boaters who just come out for a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon and simply want to see how fast they can go, swimmers wholaddle out in front of you assuming that boats have brakes. and divers who leap off the bridge in front of you - these are the people who make me nervous. I complained about these hazards one day last summer, when my sister had the job of spotter while my husband was skiing. She pointed at the button tabled "horn" on the dashboard, and asked why I didn't just honk at these peo- ple and get them out of my way. I explained that while we had a button for a horn, we did not have a horn - on boats, a horn is an option. My sister remembered this, and under our Christmas tree we found a shiny new horn. This spring we had it installed on the boat, and i was ready to honk at anyone who got in my way. My main concern was about the jumpers from the bridge - with the horn I would be able to warn them I was coming through, especially the way it echoed under the bralge. But perhaps I won't have to. Recently, new signs have been erected on the road at the edge of the bridge - "No jumping from bridge". I just hope everyone heeds the signs. DENTURE THERAPY CLINIC 2nd Office WALLACEBURG 327A James St. 1-627-6056 Sarnia 336.6580 366 NORTH CHRISTINA ST. Corner of London Rd. 8 Christina St. Sarnia, Ontario Horst Feige vants to 6 percent. Ontario Hydro's' proposed wage in- crease of 15.3 percent in 1962 would bring the average wage cost for a regular employee to a staggering 845,509. With projected rate in- creases of 54.3 percent over the next three years, a fast growing and secretive bureaucracy and an unwieldy debt load, Ontario Hydro has become a monster out of control. As an initial solution to begin to bring Ontario Hydro back under the control of the Legislature, the Ontario Liberal Party energy critic has re -introduced a Private Member's Bill entitled "An Act respecting Public Ac- countability of Ontario Hydro." In short, this Bill would allow the government, for the first time since the in- ception of the Power Corpora- tion Act, to be truly accoun- table for the actions of On- tario Hydro. It would set out the constraints, financial and otherwise, within which On- tario Hydro mist operate. Ontario Hydro must be ac- countable to the Ontario Legislature and through its elected members, to the peo- ple of Ontario. Liberal extended debate Liberal Party members launched an extended debate to protest against several tax bills in the provincial budget. The Party plans to force the Government to agree to public scrutiny of the budget in a standing committee. "We're not asking them to throw out the budget, but we feel we have the right to ex- press our objections in this way," said House Leader Robert Nixon. "Our main aim is to get them to withdraw certain provisions like the sales tax provision. Mr. Miller has been ill-advised with this budget and it's going 'to have serious ramifications on the public." Debate is centred around Legislation to allow the Government to borrow 82.25 billion, in addition to tax revenues to cover expenses for the coming year. The readers Economy may help job -hunting students By Joanne Buchanan Sometimes an economic slump can work in favor of students who are seeking "I"I hate to put it this way but, students are a cheap source of labor. So a poor economy can often work for them instead of against them," says Jim Thorne, supervisor of the Canada Employment Centre for Students offices in Goderich and Exeter. Thorne is presently busy trying to promote 'Hire A Stu- dent Week' m the county from June 14.18. The Canada Employment Centre for Students annually uses 'Hire A Student Week' to advocate the hiring of students across the country as they pour out of schools and onto the job market. This year represents a real challenge to students who are seeking jobs and Thorne em- phasizes that they have to 'work hard to find work.' Overall, looking at the economic trend in the country this year, Thorne says students are hurting a little but not as bad as other people in the work force. The main advantage for students is, he repeats, that they can be a source of cheap labor for the employer. Minimum wage is 82.65 per hour for students under 18 and $3.50 per hour for students over 18. "Also, students return to school in the fall so the employer doesn't have to worry about laying them off. He knows it is a temporary situation," explains Thorne. Thorne says students have many other virtues as well. He explains that they are energetic,enthusiastic and very available. . "Attitudes are changing. Students are not being picky. Theyare flexible and will take any job," he says. The most common types of jobs for students this year in- clude waitressing, - farm labor, maintenance and casual labor such as grass cutting, painting, cleaning etc. In tourist areas; students can often get jobs at tourist attractions or recreational facilities Thorne emphasizes that students are not always inex- perienced. Many of \them have had previous job ex- perience and they also have good educational write • nds. Too date, at the Goderich and Exeter offices, there have been 1,011 students register for jobs. This is up by 11 per- cent from last year. Placements are down nine percent so far but Thorne is hoping they will pick up this month. The Goderich and Exeter offices look after all of Huron County except for Grey, Turn - berry and Howick Townships. While compiling statistics, Thorne has found a certain trend. He says that for the size of Bayfield, employers thereuse his office a lot. Seaforth, however, is a weak point. Thorne says there are many advantages for employers hiring through the Canada Employment Centre for Students. One of their slogans is: "We won't just send you a student, we'll send you the right one." Thorne explains the Employment Centre can save employers time and money by pre-screening, interview- ing and then referring students best salted for the 'it's a free service. You can't lose by using this of- fice," Thorne tells employers. Since the job situation is so tight this year, Thorne often recommends various employ- ment programs to students. Agricrew and the Junior' Agriculturalist program offer students a chance to work on farms. The Student Venture Capital Program allows. students to create their own jobs. The Ontario government loans up to $2,000 (interest free for the summer) for ap- proved business ventures. The Summer Canada pro- gram offers federal funds for non-profit organizations in the community to hire students for various community pro- jects. The Huron County Library uses this -program to hire students for its bookmobile which visits area camps and parks. Funds are already depleted this year for the .Ontario . Youth Employment Program but Thorne says employers can apply early for next year. He has a toll free number which they can obtain for this purpose. The Ontario govern- ment subsidizes employers $1:25 an hour for every On- tarioresident between the ages of 15 and"25 they hire to work at newly created jobs that don't result in hour reductions or layoffs. Inorder to qualify, employers must have been in business for one year and cannot hire relatives. Jim Thorne is practising what he preaches when it comes to finding jobs for students. He used some of his budget to pay students to distribute 'Hire "A Student' Week' flyers. He assures employers that when they hire a student, they are'Help- ing Canada Work'. Typical of the area students seeking work are: a career as a commercial ar- tist, however, he is willing to take virtually any job for the summer. Farm work, store work, factory work, restaurants -Kerry will do it. If you have a job for Kerry, please call the Canada " Employment Centre for Students in Exeter at 235-1711. .1. Jimes-Advocate, June 16, 1982 s .- .1# _ '.m ar r v+.•.i! J" -' ✓ _ r. ` + ` Poo, ISA . SAVE M. Refinish your own furniture by hav- ing us strip it, Free professional in- formation on refinishing. Special June 9 to 26 Varnished Chairs Stripped '10 Varnished Tables Stripped 'S0 Call for information Call Now and Compare Our Low Low Prices AL'S ANTI WIS Let us refinish your oleos for you. 228-6302 Res. 2211-69 09 STRAW ERR Opening June 171 Lovell's Susan Gregus Susan Gregus is one of many high school students anxious for work this sum- mer. Currently a student at SHDHS, Susan enjoys 4-H and singing in her spare time. Ex- perienced in waitressing and babysitting, Susan is well- qualified to take a jab in either of these two areas. If you have a job for a student like Susan, please call Kathy at the Canada Employment Centre for Students in Exeter at 235-1711. • Don Beaver Don Beaver is one of many college students anxious for the work which will give him the necessary funds for next year's tuition. Don has just finished a two-year course in architecture and plans to return to college in,the fall to begin a course in civil engineering. In his spare time, Don is actively involv- ed in many sports; he has ex- perience umpiring baseball games. Able to work in- dependently, Don has had much experience in leader- ship. If you can help a student like Don, please call the Canada Employment Centre for Students in Exeter at 235-1711. Kerry Rock Kerry Rock currently at- tends SHDHS; he is actively involved in sports in his spare time. He hopes eventually for Need for change prompts resignation Editor Times -Advocate Dear Bill; There are a few students and parents - wondering whether or not I will be retur- ning to teach -at South Huron in September. I am sorry to say that I have decided to resign. I very much enjoyed 13 years at South Huron and found it difficult to give up a job I enjoyed, as well as a pro- fession that paid a good salary and benefits. It ap- pears that teaching was get- ting the better of me and I felt my enthusiasm decreasing and therefore decided on a change. At this time I would like to take this opportunity through your paper to thank a number of persons with whom I have had the pleasure of working as well as to comment brief- lyon education. To the teaching staff and support staff, many thanks for your support and en- couragement. Many of you helped and assisted me over the years and I would like you to know that I very much ap- preciated your efforts on my behalf. I do hope that you will try to maintain an interest in a job which 1 feel is most important. As teachers we are an ex- tension of parents and we do have an important job. 1 have not forgotten the many frustrations you face but hope you can continue to accept the challenge. Some of us outside the school understand the dif- ficulties and appreciate your efforts. i have had the opportunity to deal with many students over the years and I would like you to know that i ap- preciated your cooperation and acceptance. It was my objective to help you in some small way to gain confidence and grow as an individual. it seems a little ironical because it happened that your respect helped me gain confidence. Some of you may recall, if you managed to stay awake in my classes, of my comments to you by a doctor who said that we all have only three wants: a want to be happy and enjoy life, a want to be loved and accepted and a want for a feeling of impor- tance or pride. Over the years you helped me satisfy all of these wants and therefore leave me with many happy memories. Finally a few remarks about my philosopher friend, monarchist and a man of many big words, Joe Wooden. As a principal, he plays an important role in school life. For me, at least, he certainly played the role well. I would publicly like to say that any small success I may have had as a teacher is a direct result of J.L. Wooden (L is for Leroy). He supported me, and gave me much encourage- ment over the years and. always made me feel that any extra effort I may have made was appreciated. To that end I can never thank him enough. Despite what you may hear from children about school or rumours in the community on education, I still feel teachers as a group are doing a good job and most care about their work. Irfiagine the work in- volved as parents if we had to educate our children to live in this complex world. The system is not perfect but I fear unless teachers and parents start working together the student will suffer. I sometimes feel that both parents and teachers need a good kick in the rear (I have been both). A certain number of both species spend a good deal of time blaming the other for the poor behaviour of children. It seems to me that if teachers were to get to know students and parents better and parents the teachers and the school system better that both would become more accepting of the other. Many feel the students are different from when 'they Were kids but somehow things haven't changed too much. Theystill worry about getting a date, making an impres- sion, driving a car and worry- ing about their appearance. They still hear only half of what the teacher says and often judge what they see in a child -like way. They have however become much more aware of the actual events that go on around them. Twenty-five years ago or more when many of us ex- isted as teenagers, we were struggling to figure out the half truths our elders were feeding us. Today, thanks to the media, educators and parents (not necessarily in that order, that has changed. It is more difficult to bluff children and they have learn- ed, some with great skill and finesse, how to manipulate us in order to get us on their side orget what they want. Children have not changed, it is just the job as parent and teacher has become much more difficult. To teachers, I fear the teachers federation may be taking us in the wrong direc- tion. It is, of course, only my personal feeling, but it ap- pears that in the past 14 years, the federation has become more a union and less a professional organization. The pressures in teaching are great and it seems the federa- tion is only fighting for salary and protectingya teacher's job at all costs. The end result, of course, is continuous criticism of teachers by the public. To the public, please think before complaining about teachers or at least putting them all in the same category. Most are still trying to do their job. I am sure over the past few years the negative attitude toward teachers has had the same ef- fect on them as negative com- ments to children. They achieve less rather than more. Teachers are people too and they make mistakes with students just as parents do. When you feel they have made an error tell them, not others and when they do a good job tell them and I believe like children, you will get more out of them. For those of you who manag- ed to read this far and wonder why I would write this letter I can only say i felt a need to say thank you and a need to express my concern about education. To the staff and students thank you for a thousand or so good memories. Sincerely Doug Ellison * fit. * * Dear Sir: My name is Neville Pin- chbeck living at 35 Barlby Cres., Barlby, NR, Selby, Yorkshire, England. I am try- ing to trace a pen friend i had around 1947-48, his name is Alan Johnsoh and lived in Hensall, Ontario. i shall be coming to Canada for two weeks in September, staying in Toron" to for three days and of course would like tomeet him if possible. I would be most obliged if you could help me trace him through your paper. Yours faithfully, Neville Pinchbeck To The Times -Advocate • I read with interest your ac- count concerning Miss Patti Shapton, RR 1, Exeter, published May 26 in the Times -Advocate. Miss Shapton appears to be a young lady who has her community and her vocation very uppermost- in her dreams of a successful future. However, I do take excep- tion to your way of referring to Miss Shapton. Only once in this lengthy article has she been called by her first name. I found myself referring back to the beginning of your arti- cle to establish in my mind if this person called 'Shapton' was male or female. I feel it is our duty as adults to set an example not only in action but in our references to young adults by their proper name. From your report in the Times -Advocate, I believe that Miss Shapton has given much time and effort to her vocation and 1 feel she deserves a great deal of credit. i wish her every success. Yours truly, (Mrs.) Frances R. McNabb. • 6 Wallis Drive. l'eterborough, Ont. 08 the co•opetatofs INSURANCE SERVICES r LIFE * HOME * AUTO * FARM * COMMERCIAL Call Verna Gingerich Bus. 235-1109 Res. -i 235-1109 - 32 Nelson St. Shelley Little Shelley is a post -secondary students who is eager for work to finance her way through the Christ for Nations Institute in Dallas, Texas. In the past, Shelley has had much experience with out- door work and has worked as a library assistant. Shelley is a capable babysitter; she would also Ike to try her hand 1 at sales work. She has also' had much experience leading' children's groups. If you can help a student like Shelley, please call Kathy at the Canada Employment Centre for Students, 235-1711. PICK YOUR OWN Len Lovell 262-6411 Open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily Weather and supply permitting Berries are sold by the quart. 4,6,11 quart baskets allowed. No pots or pans or pets. Turin west at the Kippen intersec- tion, ntersextion, let farm on left 1 Till • COUNTRY. BAKERY , • 'Where even the crumbs taste good" The Finest'in Euopeon Style Pastry is Our Specialty Butter cream tarts for all occassidns, fresh bread and rolls daily. A delicious variety of donuts - ' THIS WEEKENDS SPECIAL 'EATXIRE Delicious Danish Pastry 3/994 • Come inland enjoy a coffee and try our treats . 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