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Times -Advocate, August 20,
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Times Established 1873
Advocate Established 1881
Amalgama ed 1924
Imes
Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 150
Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386.
Phone 519-235-1331
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Cate Serving South Huron, North Middlesex
ac North Lambton Since 1873
Published by I.W. Eedy Publications Limited
LORNE EEDY
Publisher
JIM BECKETT
Advertising Manager
BILL BATTEN
Editor
HARRY DEVRIES
Composition Manager
ROSS HAUGH
Assistant Editor
DICK IONGKIND
Business Manager
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Canada: $25.00 Per year, U.S.A. $65.00
C.W.N.A., O:C.N.A. CLASS 'A'
What's in a name?
A rose by any other name would still
smell as sweet?
Perhaps, but some groups in the area
are looking more closely at their names
and in particular, associations for the
mentally handicapped.
In Goderich, the association has
chosen "Community Living -- Central
Huron" for its new name and in St.
Marys the group will be known as The St.
Marys and District Association for Com-
munity Development.
The newspapers in both communities
are having trouble with the new.
monickers, one directly and the other
indirectly.
The St. Marys editor wonders if this
is not a regressive gesture and one which
may do a disservice to those the associa-
tion intends to help by denying the ex-
istence of a particular problem.
After citing the great strides made
in bringing the mentally handicapped
problem out of the closet and giving those
afflicted a place in the community, he
suggests the new name seems to be an
attempt to mask the nature of a par-
ticular problem "and you can't deal ef-
fectively with things which remain
hidden".
The Goderich paper had no editorial
comment on the name change, but it is
interesting to note that two news stories
surrounding the information of the
change both were headlined with the
word "disabilities" in telling of two
residents who have graduated from. a
program operated by the former associa-
tion for the mentally retarded.
The bases for the two stories was
that the people had learning disabilities
and were able to find meaningful work
in the community. Without the disabili-
ty being acknowledged, the reporter had
no storey and the work of the association
and the achievement of the two people
would never have been told.
The danger with non-descript words
is that they can become a closet in
themselves and that would appear to be
less agreeable than some descriptive
designations, notwithstanding the biases
the latter may carry.
Most people are given designations
by others, whether they be appropriate
or not. Given the same goals, members
of an Optimist club would continue to
function as previously even if the name
was changed to Pessimist Club.
It's possible to change a name, but
not reality.
Delaying action only
A task force has been named to study
Ontario's liquor laws and already there
is indication that one of the major points
to be debated at upcoming public hear-
ings is over the legal age at which peo-
ple will be allowed to consume alcohol.
Public reaction at the outset appears
to favor increasing the age to 21 from the
current 19. With the oliception of those in-
volved in the liquor business and those in
the 19 to 21 age bracket (or nearing it)
there will probably be little opposition to
such a move. Human nature generally
prompts the majority to wield a stick
over the minority whenever possible.
There are legitimate arguments in
favor of hiking the age back to its
previous 21. Highway statistics can be us-
ed to show that a certain percentage of
those under 21 who use alcohol are in-
volved in collisions. Experts may also be
called to point out that those in that age
bracket are not physiologically
developed enough to handle booze pro-
perly and of course there will be many
who can point out that alcohol use inhibits
scholastic effort.
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" 13ATTLE FATIGUE- ONCE SCHOOL STARTS, SHE'LL RECOVER"
Moving battle
Those of us who are basically
"inlanders" may not appreciate
the problems being experienced
by those who live along the water-
ways being troubled by the
record high levels of the Great
Lakes.
It's a case of out of sight, out of
mind.
Last week, while on an assign
ment to the Grand Bend area, I
took a leisurely drive through the
resort and down to the beach and
was totally surprised by the
scene.
The weather had churned the
lake into quite a frenzy and it was
the first time that I had seen
waves totally engulfing the north
the lake itself was
rq + no rougher than what had been
seen on many occasions in
t t A previous years.
In reality, of course, many of the
same arguments can be used to suggest
that alcohol availability should be total-
ly banned in our society. There are peo-
ple at all age levels who abuse it or are
addicted to it and it contributes to many
of the problems evident on the highways,
in homes, the workplace, etc., etc.
Boosting the age limit will obvious-
ly have some beneficial results, but it
basically only delays a problem and falls
far short of solving the greater problem
that is equally evident in the older seg-
ment of the population which stemmed
from a time when the legal drinking age
was 21.
The law certainly plays a role in
directing the conscience and actions of
people but the alcohol problem proves it
is not a total solution.
If those on the task force and others
who will be making presentations spent
their time in educating teenagers about
the pitfalls of alcohol use and many of
those from the current legal age proved
better examples, their efforts would
perhaps be more beneficial and of more
lasting value.
It can be licked
Not too many weeks ago the
tragic death of a 22 -year old
basketball player was reported.
He had just signed a contract of
play with the Boston Celtics as a
pro player, had gone out to
celebrate with some friends and
unfortunately met one 'friend'
who proved to be an executioner.
Traces of cocaine were found in
the young man's blood during an
autopsy. From all' accounts the
boy was not a regular user of
drugs.
Cocaine, and 'crathk', an even
more powerful and more
dangerous type of drug, are
• becoming the fastest-growing
abused drugs on the market.
They are powerfully seductive
and consequently very much
sought after. They are also very
expensive.
The effects of the drug last a
very short time, just a matter of
minates. The intense 'high' is
Followed by an equally interrn�e
'down' so users take repeatlsd
doses of .the drug to avoid that
bad feeling. With continued use,
hallucinations and other serious
signs of mental disturbance
result. Convulsions and death can
occur. Because of the high cost,
many heavy users- • have
By the
Way
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by
Fletcher
flestroyed careers an'd family life
in a frantic attempt to pay for
their habit.
One of the encouraging signs
about drug education is that the
number of high school students
who believe there are great risks
in theeregular use of drugs has in-
creased sigmticantlyy in the past
five years. This makes it a tittle
easier to say "no" when the times
comes. However, it's still a ma-
jor problem.
It's important to keep the com-
munication lines open with your
children. Hopefully you can have
frank and open discussions with
them so that when the time
comes you can impress upon
them that they are being sold a
bill of goods by the drug culture,
that drugs are not 'cool'. In fact,
they represent a tremendous
health hazard. Encourage your
kids to get involved in activities
that an give a 'natural high' :
spor, recreation, religious and
volunteer activities can be real
substitutes for drugs.
Participate. Form groups with
other ` concerned parents. .coin
your Home and School. Invite
drug counsellors to meetings. Try
;to make sure that everyone is not
only aware of drug problems but
are responsive to them.
Together we can lick this threat
to the structure of our society and
the danger to our children.
During those earlier visits,
trips along the pier would have
resulted in wet feet and a
refreshing spray in one's face,
but on this occasion a walk onto
the pier would have resulted in
being washed into the water as
the waves submerged the
structure.
While the cement pier was
standing up to the bashing, it was.
easy to imagine the damage be-
ing created to sand banks tieing
lashed by the same fury or to
wooden boat docks.
Conversely, it doesn't seem
many years ago that people along
the lakes and their many con-
tributing rivers were shown with
their boat docks being left high
and dry by low water levels as the
'lakes played their game of ever-
changing plateaus.
While some of the natural
phenomena which lead tp this
constant guessing game for
shoreline dwellers may never be
fully comprehended, the one con-
stant is that man's ability to
regulate those levels is extreme-
ly minimal.
It is also apparent that man's
ability to design protective struc-
tures that effectively reduce the
Batt'n
Around
.with
The Editor,
power of the pounding waves has
been less than totally successful
although it is apparent that most
of the damage is created through
the magnet that has always
drawn humans to live as close as
possible to the water's edge.
While that was more of a
necessity than a luxury for our
forefathers as the water provid-
ed energy and transportation, it
has been shown through the years
that the choice of location for
many communities was a huge
mistake for which subsequent
generations have been paying ex-
tensively and will continue to
pay.
•
Ironically, the magnet con-
tinues to draw people, and
despite the problems that have
been encountered through the
years, there is a general unwill-
n
}
ingness to accept moves that are
designed to protect people from
the foibles of nature.
Many area municipalities com-
plained bitterly when floodplain
designations were based on what
they considered extreme high
water levels in keeping with the
infamous Hurricane Hazel or the
100 -year record.
There's a general attitude that
somehow history won't repeat
itself, although most evidence is
to the contrary.
It's almost indicative of a men-
tality that once prevailed where
the captain of the ship was ex-
pected to go down with the ship
rather than escape in the lower-
ing life boat.
While many of those who suffer
from the ravages of nature do so
because of the lack of knowledge
of what could transpire, there are
still many who suffer because
they failed to heed the knowledge
that was available to them and
decided to tempt nature.
With all his technology, man is
still a fragile foe against nature
although he is seldom willing to
retreat and withdraw from the
battle or to even consider not
engaging in that battle.
You can almost rest assured
that when the current water
levels start to retreat there will
be humans who will follow close-
ly behind to establish their battle
stations unless others with more
foresight prevent them from so
doing.
It appears to be human nature,
learned at the tender age when
wading through puddles is more
enjoyment than skirting them.
Timeshavechanged
school consumables.
The kids bring home
everything. From minute bits of
paper with buttercups glued on to
murals that tell the story of
humankind from cave -persons to
spacepersons. And the stories!
"My Mom is not my pet,"
writes Alexander. "I can't hit my
Mom. My pet is a dog. But I can't
hit my pet. The end." Apart from
the fact that he doesn't (yet) have
a dog, I find Alexander's story
logical and well constructed. I
certainly like his brief sentences,
and his ,spelling (in this case) is
impeccable. When he had to write
a report about his first lesson in
sex education, he got carried
away with the vocabulary: "We
wacted a tape abut fish and frogs
laying aggs." }low could we
discard anything like that?
Stephanie is the family's most
prolific artist. She can produce a
picture complete with our house,
seven trees, seventeen flowers,
the sun, the moon, a rainbow, an
airplane, a self-portrait and a
group portrait of her parents and
siblings in less than five minutes.
No wonder the bus driver has to
help her carry the stuff into the
house every day.'
Duncan is more interested in
playing at the sand table and in
day -dreaming. He doesn't get in-
to art in a big way. But when he
brings home apainting, it is an
event. His works are abstract,
Please turn to page 5
When I started school, we were
taught to sit up straight at our
desks and to fill rows and rows of
lined paper with neat letters and
words. The only evidence of
school work our parents ever saw
were the report cards. I still have
all of mine, and this sum total of
surviving documents from the
first twelve years of my formal
schooling neatly fits into a single,
thin folder.
How times have changed!
Alexander has just completed
grade one; Duncan and
Stephanie have just graduated
fromunior kindergarten. And
already we are planning to build
a large barn to hold what these
kids bring home day after day
after productive day.
I am not foolin*. We have ac-
cumulated an entire room full of
pictures, paper sculptures, story
books and other creative works
that simply Cannot be discarded.
and we have kept only the best.
The creme de la creme. Every
week during the school year,
Elizabeth and I.secretly sort out
the expendable, the second-rate,
the rough and the messy. We do
it after the kids are in bed, of
course. Naturally they would be
heartbroken to find the fruit of
their labour in the garbage. And
they would think that their
parents didn't appreciate their
efforts.
But just the good stuff alone,
the cute and the wonderful, the
touching and the funny, the
clever and the decorative is
enough to cause serious concern
about the future.
We have two children's art
galleries in the house. Gallery
One is in the laundry/mud room,
where every square centimeter
of wall space is covered by draw-
ings, water colours, collages and
egg carton creations.
Gallery Two is the back of the
large island counter in the kit- ,
chen. Here things are displayed
according to season: Santas and
snow -persons at Christmas, bun-
nies and baby chicks at Easter,
pumpkins and autumn colours in
October... Both galleries con-
sume a fair amount of masking
tape.
(When the displays are chang-
ed, the stuff taken down is remov-
ed to Elizabeth's study which is
also the receptacle for objects not
included in the art galleries. Her
study is the staging area for what
might become our archives of-.
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