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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-03-04, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, March 4, 1987 Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgama ed 1924 BLUE RIBBON AWARD s imes dvocate Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 150 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. ®� Phone 519-235-1331 cn ,PCNA �aJ LORNE EEDY ' Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager CeNA ROSS HAUGH 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 'A' Don't miss it Although a little slow in getting off the mark, Huron County council have finally joined neighboring counties in making rabies shots mandatory for all dogs and cats. Rabies cases in Huron almost tripl- ed in 1986 and the area has been listed among those in which the incidence of the dread disease is expected to continue at above normal proportions. The good news is that pet owners will face a minimum fee of only $6 for the shots at veterinary clinics during the next couple of weeks and that cost is small indeed in comparison to the ramifications of having unprotected animals at your home or farm. The price is also very low in relation to the $5,000 fine which can be levied against owners who fail to comply with the mandatory regulations, and hopefully officials will be diligent in searching out pet owners who fail to accept their responsibility. It does appear strange that regula- tions must be envoked to spur some into taking what is only common sense action, but you can rest assured that those who have suffered repercussions from rabies will be among the first in line and that should say something to those who may be less moved to action. Self preservation The rash of thefts from cottages along Lake Huron show the vulnerabili- ty of unoccupied residences, although the quick work of the Exeter and Pinery OPP appears to have brought the situation to a happy conclusion for the owners. While cottage areas in particular are easy prey for thieves, all homeowners are at similar risks as the growing in- cidence of home breakins indicates. It stresses the need for communities to work together with police through Neighbourhood Watch programs. OPP Commissioner Archie Ferguson recently explained that such a program had been instrumental in police forces in Eastern Ontario breaking up a ring of young people who had succeeded in steal- ing almost $80,000 worth of property. Police found that two or three male young offenders were driven around an area by a female as the group scouted potential targets. A home or business ap- pearing to be deserted or unoccupied was approached by the female, who would knock on the door as the others waited in the car. When someone answered the knock, the female would politely ask for direc- tions, before leaving to find a better op- portunity. If no one answered, the others • approached, kicked in the door, and burglarized the home. This often occur- red in daylight hours. - An arrest was finally made when police stopped a car containing a recently stolen TV and VCR. The arrest was the result of a licence number tip provided by a Neighbourhood Watch member who thought there was something suspicious going on at the home next door. "This is a prime example of how im- portant the Neighbourhood Watch pro- gram is," commented Ferguson. "Crimes of opportunity can be eliminated only if communities work together with police, in the common goal of crime prevention." While area communities are slow getting off the mark in establishing for- mal Neighbourhood Watch programs, and should certainly be encouraged to do so, it does not negate the responsibility all residents have to keep an eye and ear open for suspicious people or vehicles in their neighbourhoods and relay those concerns to police. - - Formal -organizations -may help im- prove the message, but it is one that should be heeded by everyone as a mat- ter of self preservation for themselves and their neighbors. Get the message out It would appear unfathomable to many that illiteracy is a major problem in this day and age, but statistics indicate that up to one- fifth the adult population can be placed in that category. The irony is that many graduates of our education system are on the list and it is not solely a problem that rests with school dropouts, although naturally they constitute a majority. Certainly, some of the ex- perimental programs to which young people were subjected in the educational system in past years can be cited as part of the reason for the problem, com- pounded by the fact there wl,s lit- tle room in the system to provide the extra help that many obvious- ly required. _ Thankfully, some of those pro- blems have now been corrected, and time and special attention is given to those students who are unable to keep pace with their contemporaries for the variety of reasons that exist for that situation. While illiterkL'i-tliay never been totally eradicated, it is evi- dent that an effort is being made to greatly reduce the problem among those who currently flow through the education system. - Now, local school officials have taken steps to address the pro- blem associated with those who got "lost" in the system in the past. There were no remedial programs for them and they were left to drift aimlessly in an ap- parent hope that somehow they would manage to overcome the handicap on their own. Well, obviously that was very much a pipe dream and they have every right to be resentful of a system that allowed their problem to go uncorrected and sent them out into a world where Batt'n Around .with . The Editor they face unimaginable drawbacks in every facet of their lives. . The local program, being organized by coordinator Linda Hawley, will now give them an opportunity to overcome some of the problems and it is to be hoped that they avail themselves of that opportunity. As she and organizers Bruce Shaw and Rick Graham note, the success of the program rests in attracting those who can benefit from it. There is always a reluctance on. the part of people to make their problems known , or perhaps more to the point, refuse to adrfit that they have a problem that • needs any correcting. Hopefully, they will recognize that their illiteracy, at whatever level it may be, is not so much their own fault as that of a system that failed to provide the correc- tive measures needed to assist them. There should be no stigma at- tached to any problem over which a person has no control and the advantage and benefits that can accrue will undoubtedly leave most of them bewildered. While one in five of the area's adult population should serious- ly consider the -program, there is probably an equal number on the so-called fringe area who would find it advantageous to improve their literacy level. It's a tremendous opportunity. particularly when the assistance is bejng provided on a one-to-one base , and those who can benefit should certainly be encouraged to enrol. Ironically, many of those who may need assistance, won't be challenged by this column or other words written on the mat- ter because they have difficulty getting through such messages. It therefore behooves others to make the message known to those who could benefit. Illiteracy, of course, is a pro- blem for the entire community due to its cost in terms of diminished human potential and the local project is one that Please turn to page 5. Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by Eedy Publications limited SIR,I VO NOT GIVE- 1 TAKU Rural mail essential It can't be said often enough: the government has no right to meddle with rural and small town post offices or with rural mail delivery and pickup services. Ac- tually, it's all up'_lo us. If we're complacent about it, we'll lose what we've got. If we let the government know how we feel, we'll win. That's how our democratic system works. Canada Post isn't the offender. It is a crown corporation and sub- ject to government policy. It's our elected representatives in Ot- tawa that must get the message. Do YOU want to keep your home post office, your mail box at the end of your lane? Write a short letter to YOUR M.P. c/o House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario. No postage is required. All you've got to say is this: Leave the rural and small-town postal service the way it is now. Don't close any post offices and don't discontinue rural delivery and pickup. You can tell your M.P. that you consider it the government's duty to provide these services to you. And don't forget to state your name and ad- dress. Anonymous letters 'are a waste of time and end up in the waste basket. But signed letters are taken very, very seriously. My lot:al M.P. told me a while ago that he gets relatively little mail. If he gets a half a dozen let- ters on the same subject, he pays attention. If he gets twenty let- ters, he is sure that there is a ground swell out there which - if ignored- might cost him his seat in the next election. M.P.s must learn that there is no gospel that says: Canada Post shall break even. Why should Canada Post be differentfrom other government services? It is in a special position because in addition to spending money it also generates a lot of revenue through postage, the sale of stamps to collectors, and other things. Fine and dandy. But that shouldn't mean that it has to break even or make a profit. Does Environment Canada make a profit? Is the Department of National Defence required to break even? The Government of Canada has the job of providing certain essential services for Canadians. The Trans -Canada -Highway is one such service. It cost money to build, and it will continue to cost money to repair it, to keep it open all winter, to maintain bridges, culverts, signs, etc., and to patrol it. No one in their right mind would suggest that the Trans- Canada -Highway should "break even" and that in order to achieve this goal, certain sections in the Rockies should be closedto traffic between December and March, or that the bridges over certain rivers cost too much to maintain and should be replaced by private ferry boats. And yet, some politicians and bureaucrats in Ottawa - who. can't tell a rural mail box from an outhouse - suggest in all seriousness to close hundreds of rural and small-town mail facilities all over Canada in an ef- fort to "put Canada Post in a break-even position". You and I will just have to educate these people. We have to tell them in - language they understand to keep their grubby hands off the rural mail. What the politicians understand is the message that they won't get re-elected in their riding if they fool around with their constituents' rights. And what the bureaucrats understand is that they'll lose credibility if they recommend measures that prove to be embarrassing to their political masters. The Government of Canada has the duty to provide Canadians everywhere with reliable mail service. Of course it is cheaper and more economical to provide this service in downtown Toron- to or Montreal than on Lot 16, Concession 5. It is true that Canada's rural and small-town population is shrinking. But it is also true that Canadians who live in small communities or in the country make a valuable con- tribution to the national economy. We may be spread out, but don't count us out! Already, ruural citizens have to be content with less government services than city dwellers. And now - to add insult to injury - the government wants us to subsidize Canada Post by giving up our mail boxes and our rural post of- fices. The answer should be what General Patten told a German commanding officer in World War II who asked him to sur- render: "Nuts". The rural mail is an essential service to millions of Canadians living in small communities or in the open country. By tampering with this service, the federal government would greatly in- convenience homeowners, farmers and small businesses in the affected areas. Let's tell the government - via our 1I.P.s - how we feel. The time to act is now. Once the cuts have been made, it will be extremely difficult if not impossible to undo the damage. All you need is a piece of paper, an envelope. a ballpoint, and five or ten minutes of your time. And those few minutes will save you hours and hours in the future - driving all over God's creation to pick up- your mail, to send -a registered letter or parcel, or to pick up the newspaper you're reeding right now. In fact, many community news pa pers would be forced out of business if the government were to get its way. If you're not sure who your M.P. is, call the newspaper of- fice. or send your letter to me, c/o your newspaper. 111 send it on to the man or woman whose job it is to look after your affairs in Ot- tawa. The M.P.s must know that rural mail and small-town post offices are part of our lifeline. Different kind of sport A couple of weeks ago I heard a news report about a couple of snow-mobilers who went through the ice on Lake St. ('lair and were drowned. That reminded me of an ice fishing trip which I went on with my uncle out on Lake Simcoe. That was in the pre - snowmobile era. If yoti wanted to go out on the ice you either drove out in your truck or car, which was risky at times, or you had an airplane boat. My uncle had one of these strange outfits. It looked like one of those boats used down in the Everglades with an airplane engine on the back. he called it a 'Scoot'. When' we went out on the ice in the morning it was a bright clear day. With the wind on our back we travelled the five miles or so out to the huts in about ten minutes. Ice fishing is a different kind of sport. You sit in a little hut wat- ching your line which is suspend- ed from a foot -long tip -up rod. When the fish bites below the rod bobs and you haul in hand over hand. Since the water is about fif- By the Way by Syd Fletcher ty feet deep this takes a fair amount of time. Fish which come up from that depth get the 'bends' ' as they come up causing their skin to rup- ture as they near the surface. As you might guess there isn't a great deal of work involved in ice fishing but it certainly makes for a relaxing type of day. That day however did not end in quite as relaxing a manner. As we prepared to head for shore a storm came up blowing off the Ithore very vigorously. It 'seemed as if the lights had been turned out though it wasn't yet dark. Since the wind was blowing toward us and we were expecting the propellor to push us forward we were somewhat out of luck. We had to tack back and forth much like a sailboat moves. In- stead of ten minutes it took us almost an hour to get back to shore. The temperature was ten below zero (Fahrenheit : and with. that propellor sucking the air past our heads I was beginning to think that we would perish. One of my ears was exposed to the wind at the bottom and was turn- ing white by the time we got back to the shore. I'll tell you right now that nothing could have been more welcome than the heat coming up from the heater in our car as we headed back home. r.