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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1985-11-20, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, November 20, 1985 Times Established 1871 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1'121 imes dvocate Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1 SO Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 519-235.1331 LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager CCN* eNA BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK JONGKIND Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $23.00 Per year; U.S.A. $60.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' New punch thrown Ontario Attorney -General Ian Scott plans to step up the fight against drinking drivers with harsher penalities against those who have not yet taken the message to heart. The current $500 fine and an automatic license suspension of three months should be enough to convince most, people that they can not afford to drink and drive. Unfortunately, that is not the case. There has been no drastic reduc- tion in the number of fatalities and escape those consequences. Being one's own liquor control- board takes on new meaning. While the repction from some will be to continue their drinking habits with the hope of avoiding detection, there will be others who wisely take more positive steps. Those heading for parties wilt' take steps to ensure that one member remains able to• drive home. Good hosts will ensure the bar is cut off early enough to enable guests to drive safely, or will have to plan to personal injury accidents on Ontario put some of their guests up overnight. highways and the fact remains that 50 \ Hosts for public parties should percent of those can be attributed to recognize their obligation to patrons to drinking drivers. A one-year suspension should clearly make some people take notice of the reality that- drinking drivers are no'tonger socially acceptable on the highways. A year without a driver's permit is a hardship to most people and it behooves everyone to consider what her/his life would be like for that year without that privilege. remind them that too many walks to the bar could result in a year-long walk. While the recent crack -down on ' drinking drivers has already spurred many to accept their responsibilities, the new penalties should come close to making that unanimous. Are they too harsh? Not in com- Clearly, the majority of people parison to the "penalty" inflicted upon will find it necessary to plan their those who end up being victimized by social activities more carefully to • drinking drivers! Interesting book The long-awaited Huron. County Atlas has been released to purchasers and its editor and staff should be con= gratUlated on a fine piece 9f work. It is an excellent book, full of historical information about the county, its origins and its residents. The pages - are attractively laid out and the reproduction is immaculate. The original intention was to pro- duce a book which would up -date the atlas originally printed nearly 100 years ago, but as the work progressed it became evident that the scope of the volume could be expanded and the resultant choice of material is commendable. Every community should en- courage a sense of history. We have had the good fortune to. be reared in a favored part of the world and those far-off pioneers who turned a forest into a prosperous homeland should never be forgotten. The atlas recognizes the value of printed history by recording not only the achievements of the past, but also by including a comprehensive record of present farming families and business enterprises. Compilation of the Huron County Atlas has been a monumental task, for which we should be deeply grateful to all those who persisted in this valuable enterprise. Wingham Advance Times Who invented lavender? There's nothing quite like a full day's tromping around at the Royal Winter Fair to remind one of how enjoyable it is to sit down behind a desk again. The outing can also refresh one's memory for the dislike of the pungent smell of lavender, being jostled unmercifully by 300 busloads of school kids and leav- ing such events with the gnawing realization that it hadn't chang- ed much from what you'd seen the previous year. . That's not to suggest that the Royal is an event i would gladly miss. No doubt the unpleasant aspects will have worn off suffi- ciently by this time next year to entice another visit. There's lots to see and do at this showcase of Canadian agriculture. but it seems that i always manage to be at the op- posite end of the huge building when there is something I want to see or do at the other. Unfortunately. that results in another foray past the woman with the lavender display at the same time as those 300 busloads of school kids are coming in the opposite direction. i don't know who buys all that lavender or for what purpose. Perhaps in smaller quantities it does have appeal but i find the only respite is heading fol' the more pleasant odors one finds in the cattle or pig barns. The darn stuff permeates the air throughout the Royal. Even the delicious food products available lose theirappeal on the first bite. because they end up tasting like lavender. Even a generous dose of mustard and ketchup can't remove the aroma. Perhaps that's one _of the reasons red meat farmers are in so much trouble these days. Con- sumers have been going to fairs to view and sample their wares and come home thinking that meat tastes akin to lavender. Small wonder there's a growing number of vegetarians. The livestock producers should get Batt'n Around The Editor together and ask fair officials for equal treatment by having the lavender booth put up with the vegetably displays on the second floor at least every other year. After all, turn about is fair play. People wouldn't drool so much over a Caesar salad if it took on the flavor and aroma of lavender. •* * * While some would charge the writer with a certain amount of bias, one of the features on Wednesday's program was the ladies' lead class in the sheep Karn. This year's event attracted 16 young ladies. each attired in wool fashions, parading around • the ring with a well-trained sheep in tow. It certainly made for one of the most colorful aspects of the day and was witnessed by an ap- preciative audience of all ages and sex. Rating in the same category was a dressag exhibition given at the evening horse show by one of Canada's top competitors. The -rider and her horse were in perfect harmony tis they literal- ly danced around the ring in an intricate display of horsemanship. It's difficult to imagine the hours of training that must be in- volved in attaining such a peak of perfection. Even a nimble Fred Astaire would have trouble duplicating the delicate, lithe movements of a dressag horse working in synchronization with its rider. Canada will host the 1986 world championship, so perhaps we'll get an opportunttyvto see more of this equestrian sprt on the tube. The Royal is intended as a showcase for Canada's agriculture arIZI obviously lives up to that billing with entries from across the nation, along with some from south of the border. It probably fails in the attempt to help city consumers unders- tand the plight of this nation's agriculture economy at the pre- sent time. However, the evidence was there for those who looked for it. While killing some time i sat in on two auctions, one for the dairy cattle and another for beef breeds. The top beef livestock were being sold for about one- fifth the price of the dairy breeding stock. That's perhaps a fair indication of the current situation out on the farm as it pertains to those two commodities. Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited "You shouldn't associate with this mean. ugly, vicious beast!" "Hey, c'mon now — she's not THAT bad!" Putting on the -storms For years or more, we got along or bank managers in theft scrubbing fine with ordinary storm windows. Oh, I'll admit they caused a certain amount of domestic hassle. chiefly because they were put on too late in the fall, or taken off too early in the spring, according to the old lady. But she was always in a rush to "get things done". 1 get them done. evei itually. Never once did I fail- to find someone who would put them on before Christmas. And they were kind of ugly. And they did warp. And they did have to be painted. And it was costing more money every year to get someone to do the job. But, ah, what a good. feeling I had every fall wheni'd conned some guy with a strong back to do the job. 1 wouldn't touch them with a six-foot pole. It's a big house. and there were 14 of the brutes, weighing about 70 pounds each. 1 don't mind heights. as long as I'm not attached to the ground. i've been up to 32,000 feet. all by myself, in a Spitfire, and higher than that in passenger jets. • But it takes all my nerve to climb step ladder and change a bulb in (he kitchen, with my someone holding the ladder. There was no way i was going to climb 30 feet up a ladder. carrying a 70 pound storm window, and punch and hammer it into place. I always had a vision of a wind cat- ching the storm broadside when 1 was halfway up, and taking off for a hang- gliding trip. That actually happened to one chap who was doing the job'one fall. A gust caught him and he sailed off the lad- der, landed on his feet like a cat, still clutching the window. and nothing was damaged. Ile just grinned. That was Jim Fletcher, a young fellow who was completely unafraid of work. Made his living at cleaning floors, windows. etc. and built up a nice little business. scrubbing out banks and stores and such at nights. You don't see too many merchants their floors after they've closed. do you? Might do them good. - Jim used to charge $14 to put on the storms„ which included washing them, and washing theputside of the regular windows, storing the screens it took him a couple of hours. in the spring, he'd take them off. wash them again, store them. for $10. The price went up steadily after he went to greener pastures. and the quality of the workmen went steadi- Sugar & Spice Dispensed Smiles by ty downhill. Some of the young guys I hired took twice as long and charg- ed twice as much. Sometimes the win- dow would stick and they'd leave it with a one -inch gap around half of it. (Inc bird put his fist through a storm and bled all over the place. Another dropped one and glassed half my front lawn. Last year. i had a young fellow . newly started in the cleaning -up of properties. raking leaves. that sort 01 thing. 1 gave him the job of doing the estate. provided he'd do the storms. He looked pretty dubious. but agreed. Brought his wife around on her day off to hold the ladder. Well. hegot them all. but he was peagreen when he'd finished. Ilt' swore he'd never do them again. By this time it was costing me almost $10(1 a year to get the brutes on and off. Not to mention a great deal of harassment from the distaff side. and a frantic search for a. putter- onner. Nobody on unemployment in- surance was vaguely interested. All this, combined with the energy crisis propaganda, made me cave in. and we had aluminum storms put on. 1 could have paid $100 a year for the next 13 years if I'd.stuck with the old wooden ones. "But look what you'll save on fuel". you say. That's what they all say. Probably 50 bucks a year. "it will in- crease the value of your house". so- meone else says. Maybe. By a few hundred. But it's not the money that bothers me. You can't take it with you. Seems to me you can't take a house with you either. • No. it's not the money : it's the stress. Those windows have to be washed spring and fall. and maybe a few times between. According to the brochure. and the dealer. there's nothing to it.. You just tear off the wooden inside frame. hoist your inside window. push this, pull that, and the storm comes in. You wash it. Then you get out on the ledge. hanging on by one hand and one foot. :10•feet off the ground, and clean the outside. After which. if you get back in. you just zip. whip. slide. lower your inside window. and ham- mer back on your now splintered wooden frame. My wife used to have a girl who would conic in to help her and they wrestled with those things. got them stuck. got them in but not on the rails. and generally found the whole process like roping a steer. i don't blame them. 1"ye always had an aluminum door on my hack door. and spring and fall I nearly rupture myself. swear like a sailor. threaten to smash the thing with an axe. and take an hour just to slide the screen up and let the storm down. or vice versa. I was always expecting to come home and find two women, each clut- ching an aluminum window. un- conscious on my lawn. Or hanging by one foot from an upper window. screaming for help No righ t to be there in a recent news report from London, Ontario a party was be- ing held to celebrate 'Homecom- ing' weekend at the University of Western Ontario. The party got very. large, spilled into the streets and was soon totally out of hand. As happens in such cases. the police were called and they ask- ed the people present to disperse. They refused to do so and the police. wearing protective facewear and using nightsticks moved in on the crowd. Some young people got hurt in the pro- cess and loudly complained about police brutality, including a reporter who seemed to think that force should not have been used, definitely not on him since he was a reporter and obviously not a participant. Tut, tut, my dear constables. Really you should have used more consideration with these lit: tie people. You should have gone in there and reasoned with them. -When somebody broke a beer bot- tle on the street. you should have gently retnarked. "Now see here hoes. that's not a very •gentlemanly thing to do. Really By the } Way by Syd I let( her now fellows. we'd appreciate it it you Would move on now and we'll forget that you've been yelling and screaming all evening. disrupting traffic. breaking the li- quor laws. and being generally disorderly. We realize that you're just having some lun and that it's all right to ignore the law when everybody else is doing Then when they laughed in your faces. spit on the odd officer. called you a few choice names. you should really have talked a little more. You have to unders- tand that these are university boys who are just having a few hi- jinks before they hit the hooks. Hogwash' If you're in a public place which the police are trying to clear because; of a general disturbance then you better get clear. reporter or no reporter. you've got no business being there. And if you're part of the distur- bance then you better be prepared to accept a crack across the noggin with a nightstick. Next time you might think twice about being part of .such nonsense.