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Times-Advocate, 1986-05-28, Page 4Advocate 'Amer ed 1'24 4 Each i4eddnesday at Exetett, «NOM 1 Second class Mail Registration Number 034. (iLhone 510.2U5-1 k • LORNE EEDY • Publisher JIM BECKET1 Advertising Manager BILL BATTEN Editoi HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAVGH Assistant Editor DICK JONGKIND - Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $25.00 Per year; U.S.A. $65.00 C:W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS W Missed the boat Nice try, David, but it won't work! • That's the message Exeter council will be -sending to Ontario Premier David Peterson regarding his government'sat- tempt to'push the matter of extending the sale of alcoholic beverages onto municipal councils. It's the same message being seri by a number of other councils in the province as well. As indicated by Exeter council, it is one of the more brilliant cop-outs attemp- ted by one level of government to get out of a controversial situation by passing it along to another. However, those municipalities may be acting too hastily without due con- sideration of the advantages of assuming control of local liquor sales. It must be assumed that the provin- cial Liberals would pass along the right for municipal councils to collect the taxes on liquor sales and use them for their own •purposes. As everyone knows, the booze , .in- dustry provides the provincial 'coffers • with a significant contribution and if municipalities are going to get into the business of licensing outlets (including the local LCBO and Brewers' Retail) they they're obviously missing the oppor- tunity of having their ships come in. Perhaps Peterson and his cohorts didn't have that in mind, but someone should pick up on the idea that "passing the buck" could have some very literal translation for municipalities. If the provincial government really want to rid themselves of an election pro- mise that is more thorny than assumed, there is every reason to assume they'd be willing to pay the price. Exeter council and others should ob- viously reconsider their position and in- firm Toronto that they'll be happy to take over liquor sales and the accompa- nying tax revenue. Withdraw welcome In the wake of the "disaster" created by people using the Pinery provincial park over the holiday weekend, it should be noted that those people were not "campers" in the true sense of the word. As figures and observations show, the people at the Pinery were primarily rowdy and destructive young people who migrated to the great outdoors for a wild weekend. Their intent was obviously not to camp, but to have a three-day binge. Not surprising, the true campers were cognizant of the annual Victoria .Day weekend rites of spring, and stayed well clear of places such as the Pinery to attend camp -outs similar to those stag- ed by the Ausable River Nomads in Ex- eter. As true campers, they enjoyed themselves and left their grounds in im- peccable conditions, knowing that is the only way they would be welcomed back. The youth at the Pinery should ob- viously not be welcomed back. While a blanket no admittance would appear un- fair for those who may have behaved themselves, the reality is that Exeter would not welcome back any of their weekend visitors had even a small percentage conducted themselves in any manner comparable to the antics at the Pinery. The sheer number of young people at the Pinery made it impossible for authorities to maintain the type of super- vision and surveillance that is obviously needed so those numbers either have to be drastically or entirely reduced. The citizens and responsible campers of this province must not be ex- pected to pay the price for youths who have not yet grasped the sense of respon- sibility that must be shown to enjoy our beautiful provincial parks. Okay in their place MI my life I have regarded squirrels and chipmunks as cute, friendly, likeable creatures. And I still do. In their place. In parks, in the bush, at the cottage even. When they try to take over my house, my home, my castle, I have to draw the line. They're got nobody to blame but themselves if our friendship is now on the rocks. I've tried everything. i've nail- ed plywood in front of cracks. I've sprayed the house with a solution suggested by one of the local experts. The only effect was that visitors have stayed away from us, and even Duncan and Stephanie packed their bags and announced they were leaving home. The squirrels and chipmunks laugh and giggle about the traps I have set for them. They eat the bait and carry --the traps all around our property. And still they eat through our siding, tear the insulation from the walls and build nests with the fluffy stuff. They find ingenious ways to break and enter wherever the garbage is kept under lock and seal, and they make a mess that yours truly has to clean.up. Another expert told me to plant nasturtiums whose pungent per- fume rodents are supposed to dread. Not our rodents. • My nasturtiums got trampled by dozens of busy little rodent feet seeking entry to what i thought was my 'house. i agree. squirrels and chip- munks were here before i was. Before there were any settlers, 4 probably betore there were any Indians. So they think they have the right to do what comes naturally: gnaw and nosh at whatever is available. It doesn't bother them that I have a deed, and that I work my butt off to pay the mortgage. When at first the experts are wrong, try, try, try for yourself. PETER'S POINT • i paid a visit to the local hard- ware store. "What do you do about squirrels and chipmunks?" "You shoot them". "Shoot them? I've never shot anything or anybody in my life. I don't even have a gun." "Then you live with the squirrels." "isn't there anything else, like humane traps that really work, or poison that kills them instantly without suf- fering, or tranquilizers...?" "Nope. Get yourself a 22.- i lived through another month of what I can only describe as an outbreak of tree and ground squirrels. They mated on the roof right under our bathroom win- dow. When i clapped my hands to chase them away, they moved all of one meter and carried on with their procreational activity. Every time I opened the garage door, a chipmunk ran out from under, carrying bits of my house along. When I found the globular evidence of their ex- cellent digestion all over the front porch, I decided that I should become a hunter. I borrowed a rifle, and I bought a box of the most fearful looking ammunition I ever saw. "Mushroom bullets", the man at the hardware store calls them. "Kills them dead without suffer- ing." That's what I wanted, sen- timental slob that i am. It didn't take me long to get the first innocent, big -eyed, adorable chipmunk within close range. I don't know what startled me more, the unexpectedly loud bang or the fact that I actually hit the poor beast. It wiggled its feet, turned over on its back, and that was that. Well, not quite. i still had to give it a decent burial. I am sorry to repoi`t that I have • had to repeat this performance several times, and still we are not rid of squirrels and chipmunks. Whenever the kids are all away at the same time, i go on the prowl, usuallyba ing one or two rodents. I {el like a hideous Murderer, and yet i cannot help a feeling of accomplishment when 1 hit another furry friend. What is this gun doing to me? Surely there must be a better watt' to control the squirrel and chipmunk population. I appeal to you, before it is too late, save me from turning into a trigger-happy Rambo! How do you get rid of these animals that look like pets and behave like pests? Encouraging signs There are times when what isn't said in a communication can be as important as what is said, Hopefully that is the case with the recent letter penned by Stephen Township'Reeve Tom Tomes in advising that his council will not accept the suggested 512,868 as their portion of contributions -to the South Huron rec centre board. While'turning down that figure, the letter fails to indicate if there is another figure which would be agreeable, to Stephen. Contents of the letter indicate the door may not be entirely shut. Reeve Tomes detailed his council's first reaction, suggesting that there, inay have been further reactions as the consideration of the mat- ter continued. Stephen council's reaction is not surprising, In fact it could be expected from any group sudden- ly faced with a 10 -fold increase. Itis hoped that the negotiations will continue and the township will not jnove to a "let's get out and stay out" position. That would totally negate the strides, that are being made in 'recreation matters in this area as people appear to bg coming to grips with the ongoing problems associated with that subject. This was evident at last week's session of the South Huron rec centre board where there was some indication that ' the philosophy of recreation and its funding were being considered by some members, and while that failed to generate any declsison making, it at least offers the hope for some move in that regard. * « * * • While recreation in this area has been served in the past by some very energetic and cons- cientious volunteers, it is evident that too much of their energy was directed towards the day to day operations without the necessary discussion about where recrea- tion has been and where it is going. Dcisions have been made on historical bases and that has often been tothe detriment of recreation. The facilities have kept pace with modern technology but the same can not always be said about the management skills of those in- volved with recreation, although in their defence, it must be noted that recreation users operate on the basis of historical facts as well. A case in point is the uprising that was experienced when a decision was made to curtail the dragging and liming of the local ball diamonds. Facilities manager Cam Stewardson erred' in making such a unilateral deci- sion, but it did produce some statistics on the cost of maintain- ing the diamonds that have never surfaced at any of the many recreation meetings this writer has attended. , Those statistics should have been the basis on which rental fees are charged; yet they were probably as much news to the board members as they were to me. The discussion on maintenance of the diamonds uncovered another area in which some philosophical consideration is warranted. Letters from various Batt'n Around ...with The Editor batt groups suggest that because they contributed to the capital costs they should get special consideration. On the other hand, the lawn bowlers also came up for discus- sion and they were described as an autonomous group because they provide their own maintenance and, operating necessities. It would appear that the rules for two groups vary considerably although they come under the same administration. Probably other examples of a lack of a defined policy covering all recreation groups could be un- covered without too much trouble and that obviously suggests that some review is warranted. « « « « * There was also a report of the area's recreation "task force" given at the meeting and it in- dicated that there is some confu- sion about the aim of the group and just who is involved and when. Perhaps more disconcerting was the report thatrecreation groups from the various municipalities involved have dif- ferent recording and accounting systems that make it almost im- possible to compare operating costs. Some include only direct costs, while others put indirect costs into their charges. Some employ a system that could be described as paper transfers that cloud the picture even more. The point is . that few municipalities or their recreation committees know what anyone of their recreation programs or facilities is costing and that ob- viously makes it impossible for them to set fees that reflect those costs. That suggests that not only the philosophy of recreation should be considered, but also the com- mon sense and business approach that should be employed. « « « * ., The South Huron rec board also debated the present reciprocal agreement that it has with the Huron board of education. The agreement, unfortunately, is very loose and appears to be sub- ject to the whims and opinions of those called on to administer it. There's no doubt that the ar- rangement is beneficial to both groups, but again it warrants 'a serious look so some guidelines can be established to alleviate the necessity of bringing individual requests before the board. Oddly enough, the use of local rec facilities by the secondary students ,from throughout the area is never mentioned when user statistics are prepared. Bruce Shaw ended up wearing two hats during the discussion about the high school students us- ing the rec centre and he pointed out that the decision reached by the board was to his liking as princial of SHDHS, but not a Mayor of Exeter. That too had something to say about the need for some defined policies regarding recreation in this area as did the comment by Usborne Councillor Pat Down who argued in favor of charging the student groups and having them go to "council" for financial assistance if that was required. Of course, she meant Exeter council, whom she suggested had crimped the board by not • meeting the full level of grant that had been requested. What she obviously failed to consider is that her own council contributes to the rec board and also sends students to the high school who would be involved in the functions. It has been argued by Exeter officials that the town has paid a disproportionate level of cots fOr the board in the past, but 'not- withstandiq the validity ofthat argument, it can certai1 be said that Exeter has met in- creases in the board's operating and capital budgets to a greater extent than have the contributing. townships since the board's inception. * « * « ' « As noted, there are encourag- ing signs that recreation and its current problems are being fac- ed by officials throughout the area and that includes a review of the policies and philosophy i or lack thereof) that have helped create those problems. It is worth noting that the South Huron board not only made some decisions on the questions which they faced at their recent meeting, but more importantly, turned those items over to com- mittees to bring back policies which will cover the situation in the future without the need to have them discussed again. There are, however, rnany other unanswered questions and those who have been elected or appointed to look after recreation in this area have a big job ahead of them. Recreation has been literally flying by the seat of its pants for too long, and now that budgets have been set and the workload for councils reduced, it should get some priority treatment from them as well as those they have appointed to their hoards. Fighting drug abuse Perhaps you have never heard of CADA. It stands for Citizens Against Drug Abuse. It Was created a number of years ago to deal with the skyrocketing pro- blem of drugs and drug-related crimes. People became concern- ed when many of the criminals proved to be youths who had turn- ed to stealing in order to finance their dependency on a variety of dangerous, illegal drugs. In one drug-related incident a mother, father, and two little children were killed when their parked car was hit by an automobile being chased by the police. inside the other care were tWo drug -dazed high school students, the son and daughter of the town's mayor and a large cache of cocaine which the pair By the Way by Fletcher admittedly intended to sell. Both were heroin addicts, as a medical examination proved. The children were charged with 8 manslaughter, tried, and sent to prison. Shortly afterward the boy's mind broke under the stress of guilt. According to the prison psychiatrist he will live out his days in a mental hospital. Because of this tragedy CADA was formed in Ontario. its pur- pose is to alert parents and the community about the dangers of drug -abuse, to set up action plans if necessary to boycott groups or persons who are encouraging or tolerating the use of illegal drugs. To CAI)A, Eva McMann was such a person. Next week i will tell you how they came to this opi- nion and how they set about op- posing her.