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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1986-06-18, Page 4Tines Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 A 1924 t \A Rt, imes Published acts Wednesday Morning at deter, Ontario, NOM 1S0 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386: C Phone 519-235-1331 PC C t� NA 4444 LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS NAUGH Assistant Editor DICK JONG$1ND Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $25.00 Per year, U.S.A. $65.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' Big achievement The Girl Guide movement in Exeter marks a special occasion this weekend with the 40th anniversary celebrations. There will be some . enjoyable reminiscences among the girls and leaders who have enjoyed the camaraderie that is a vital part of the organization. Forty years of service may not ap- pear to be a significant'figure until one explores the statistics that give evidence to the large number of girls who have benefitted from a program that has some heady ideals as its foundation. The value of the movement may have been expressed best in a recent comment by Exeter Councillor Dorothy Chapman, a strong proponent of Guiding, who suggested that job application forms should have a place where applicants could indicate whether they had been members of the Guide or Scout move- ment. Her point was that the training was swnething which a prospective employer should take into consideration. It does While the flashy jets from the London air show were periodical- ly heard overhead at the farm last week, the main attraction out on the pasture was the first spring sheep dog trial for the On- tario Border Collie Club. The two events are similar to the extent they are crowd pleasers, but they obviously have little else in common. The history of herding dogs goes back centuries before the age of modern aviation, of course, but the latter continues to evolve and even the most im- aginative among us has little way of knowing to what heights man and machine will soar in the next century. Conversely, little change will be seen in border collies because they are worked and trained from the basis of the instincts which have been passed down through the generations. Through genetic selection it is possible to get some desirable chiges in any breed, but those are primarily physical. So some may seek to develop a bigger dog or one that is faster, but the suc- cress rate in breeding to combine instincts from two different breeds is usually done at the detriment of the strength of one or the other of the instincts with which one starts. The ability of the border collie to gather and herd animals stems from its eye. The strength it has in moving animals is in direct relation to that eye. While it will resort to using its teeth to turn a stubborn ewe or cow, that is seldom necessary for a dog with the proper amount of eye. It basicaliv stares its foe into sub- mission to move in the direction that it wants. A dog with a weak eye will not have the staying power to con- vince another animal to move. while one that is too strong in the eye will almost become self hyp- notized and oblivious to other challenges or directions given to it. The art and skill in training a border collie involves turnine t At the same time, Mrs. Chapman en- thusiastically explained that the current leaders involved in the community's Guide and Scout groups were a dynamic group and the activities were at one of the highest levels ever. That speaks well for the future of the organizations and emphasizes the need for the entire community to pay tribute to the volunteers who unselfishly give of their time and talents to provide the leadership that adds immeasurably to the ability of our young people to meet the challenges of life. While adjusting the programs to meet modern needs has been necessary, the ideals have remained comparative- ly stringent and have stood the test of time for a couple of generations in this community and no doubt will continue to do so with the continued .support of the community and the leadership that has helped .bring the. Guiding movement to its present anniversary. take a keen eye those natural instincts into pro- ductive work, and in general, the only difference one sees in a well trained dog and one that is better - described as useless is the amount of time the owner gives to the training process. s . ** With very few exceptions, a useless border collie reflects on its owner, not its breeding. The same can probably be said about most dogs with bad habits or per- sonalities. In fact you won't be too far wrong in making the same Batt'n Around ..with The Editor comparison with people and their offspring. As many farmers know, it doesn't take too long to train a dog to a simple routine of going out to gather up the cows for milking. The latter often become trained to start the trek to the barn when they hear the dog be- ing sent out. Other livestock, and sheep in particular, are much less• regimented and a good border collie can be the equivalent of two or three extra people when it comes time to moving them. More times thanl care to count it has been frustratingly pointed out that a few minutes extra spent on training my own dog to a higher degree would have sav- ed considerable time and frayed nerves in many of the sheep handling pursuits. • * •• Mast dog owners are more than a little embarrassed about their shortcomings as trainers when they see events such as the sheep dog trials. While the selection process for such dogs may be more stringent, many would achieve such a degree of ex- cellence if given the training time and patience. The first thing one notices is that the dogs are under total con- trol of the handler, whether work- ing or not. Their obedience is remarkable and should serve as notice to any dog owner that that is his/her responsibility. The trial is a test of the ability of the handler and dog to move a small number of sheep over a prescribed course that includes a variety of gates, a chute and finally an eight -foot square pen into which the sheep must be driven to conclude the event. The directions are given primarily by whistle because at times the dog may be working up to 200 yards from the handler. Voice commands can suffice • when the dog and owner are in close proximity. The pitch or duration of the whistle blast signifies whether the handler wants the dog to move to the right or left to herd the sheep in the desired direction. A couple of the veteran handlers demonstrated the art of working a pair of dogs at the same time, each moving to its own commend. Similar to rodeo events, some success is contingent on the draw of the animals to be moved, although it s ldom is totally in- struments in the scoring outcome. A w ki g border collie, unlike an ai pl e, has basically reach- ed its full potential and im- provements can he expected on- ly in the method of training. Even for people who may never have had to move sheep, the abili- ty of the dogs is quite breathtaking. What some may not know is that the majority of trial dogs are taken home, tossed hack into their pen in the barn in prepar- tion for their next call to duty on that farm. Their show dog cousins may be more beautiful and live a pampered Life, but all a border collie appears to expect is a loving pat and a word of praise after an exhausting day's work. The work ethic is very much alive in man's best friend. vocate Serving South Huron, North Wes" & North Lambton Since Published by J.W. ihedy Pubikations Limped 1 TV"( MaIiit SEAM ittb "I lost control of my car yesterday — the bank repossessed it." Garage sales a When you live in a big old house - in the country with a growing family, garage sales are a must. You can't let everything ac- cumulate. So once or twice a year we hold a sale which usually turns out to be a lawn and driveway sale because the gods seem to smile on those who real- ly put a lot of effort into their preparations. Our garage sales are special. We plan them weeks ahead. The 4qte it very important. Not too early or too late in the year, not during the school holidays, not on long weekends. Once Garage Sale Saturday has been picked by our selection committee (Elizabeth, Alex- ander', Stephanie and me - Dun- can doesn't care), there is no tur- ning back. The events take over. Fiat df all, the ad has to be composed. For this we've got to know what we have to sell. This means we've got to get the stuff from the cellar and from the shed where we accumulate it throughout the year. I used to place shy little ads that cost three bucks and brought us maybe half a dozen shy and stingy customers. This year I have turned bold. My ad has 300 words. It is headed "Calling all garage §ale lovers!", and it starts with: "This is not your or- dinary garage sale ad because this is not an ordinary garage sale. It is a special occasion which you can't effort to miss." The ad tells them when and where the.sale is going to be held, and that all they've got to do is follow our signs. As we view our little treasure, we take notes. And from the notes I pick items to be included in the ad. Like "Toys - especially He - Man stuff... a Water Pik (never used)...a love seat (the kind for kids, not for lovers)... genuine silver wine cups in the shape of animals... books (all are autographed, some by the authors..." The folks at the local paper need convincing that this 300 word ad is for real. A check list is made, and all members of the garage sale task force get their jobs. Alexander decides which toys will be sold and which are still essential. They are separated into buckets of different colours. Once in, a while he sneaks into the garage and transfers a couple of items from the "sell" bucket to the "keep" bucket. Stephanie helps making and decorating the signs. She is also chairperson of the Koolaid sub- committee, deciding the colours and quantities to be sold at the refreshment table. Dad is transportation chair- man, setter upper, labeller and pricer. And Elizabeth heads the critical review department. If anything goes wrong, she is the first to spot it and to announce it. While she never suggests a price (she really would prefer to send the whole shooting match to the township dump), her valuable contribution consists of drawing attention to wrong prices after the items in question have been hauled away by gleeful and lucky purchasers. There are a couple of other things I look after, like getting change, distributing the signs at strategic locations throughout this and several other townships, mowing the lawn a few days before the sale, and, of course, doing the actual selling. And naturally, carrying the unsold items back to the cellar and the shed. Elizabeth does bring out a cof- fee once in a while, and she does take in interest in the receipts: "How much is it now?" Usually the phone is fairly busy on the day before the sale. Peo- must pie -ask questions like: "Do you have any 19th century tools or pressed glass cream jugs?•" You're not going to find priceless antiques, I tell them, but if you want to have fun, rummage through some decorative junk and have a cup of Koolaid for a dime, served by an eager, smil- ing little girl and an equally eager but shy middle-sized boy, come on over. The evening before the sale is labelling and setting up time. By midnight I am ready for a shower - to rinse off the dust and to soothe my aching bones. The sale doesn't start till 8 in the morning, but by 6:30 there is always somebody who wants toknow whether the screen door. we advertised is 30 or 31 inches. When I tell him it's 33, he hangs up. By 7 o'clock the signs have to be. in place, and the first customers always arrive at least half an hour before the sale is supposed to start. They are bargain hunters par excellence, looking only for very specific items like early comic books or brass candle sticks. The honest -to -goodness buyers come later, especially between 9 and 11. They fall into two categories, the practical and the romantic. The practical buyers set bargains, but don't have Much fun. They find what they are looking for, haggle over the price, load their purchases into station wagons or half -tons and drive off. The romantics don't need anything. They come because they are obsessed by an irresistible urge. They know that somewhere on some garage sale table they will find the answer to their dreams. For a buck and a half. And they don't want to miss that chance. But most of all, they drive around the country on Saturday mornings to take in the garage sale atmosphere. If you don't belong to that group, you'll never understand. But if you do. you'll know what I mean. We need each other. And we're all having the time of our lives. Next week, I'll tell you how everything went this time. needle Read for dull different from most people at that time. You stayed away from doctors unless you were desperately ill because you knew that much of the cost was not covered. Now virtually everything is covered for all the population and doctors have to he seeing far more patients than they were then with a far higher rate of payment than they ever dreamed of at that point. My gut feeling about this whole issue is that most doctors do not feel too stongly about it since they are civil servants and that their wages can he set by the government. Unpleasant as that last fact may be it is true. Included with that limitation of 'freedom' comes the built-in very high stan- dard of living which doctors have come to love and enjoy. It is un- fortunate that you cannot have your cake and eat it too. 4.t -the risk of my doctor using a Jlery dull needle the next time I get a shot of penicillin, I'd like to offer my two cents worth about the issue of extra -billing and Bill 94, which will almost assuredly make it very uncomfortable for doctors to charge anything over the rate established by OHIP. Some doctors tend to forget the 'good old days' before medicare came into being in Canada, hack when very few people had medical insurance of any kind and sure enough, doctors could set their fees at any level they choose. The only problem, of course, was that it wasn't quite so easy to collect those bills. 1 can remember going into the hospital about twenty years ago with a very sore chest. The inter- nal medicine specialist came in, looked at my k -ray chart and diagnosed it as double pneumonia, something that the intern down in emergency had done already. That was the last I saw of him, but after I got out .By the Way by Syd Fletcher of thg hospital I got a bill for $30.00. That may not seem very much now but I had only limited in- surance and thirty dollars was almost two days pay. I can remember paying it back at five bucks a month. What I'm saying is that my situation was probably not much