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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-03-18, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, March 18, 1987 Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgama ed 1924 imes dvocate Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S0 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. / ` \ Phone 519-235-1331 LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager +CNA ifig. BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager 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' Turn fancy to safety As spring approaches with its pro- mise of new and vibrant life it also heralds a season that can have the op- posite result for the unwary. Bicycles have already been hauled out of winter storage by many area youngsters, some of whom have obvious- ly forgotten the rules of the road during their winter hiatus. It is imperative that bicycle riders approach spring with the same caution as the flowers which slowly test their sur- roundings before bursting forth. Initial- ly, parents should ensure that those bikes coming out of storage are in first class shape and not suffering from the woes of storage which can damage brakes and handle bars. Certainly, a thorough review of all the safety rules should be undertaken as well as the establishment of restrictions for days when light snowfall or freezing conditions can make roads too slick for bike use. -- Spring is also the time of year when. swollen waters provide tempting adven- tures for small fry (and a few stupid adults) who fail to realize that the temperatures are still dangerously low and reduce survival time in those waters to a tew short minutes. - Stranger than fiction Truth is often stranger than fiction and some court decisions, in particular, often give proof to that old adage. For instance, the Saskatchewan court.of appeal recently overturned a druxill; driving n,beccuse, it. ,w..as,,., ruled the man was -too drunk to unders- tand nderstand police had told him he had the right to a lawyer. RCMP officers violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by informing the accused of his right to counsel when they knew he was "absolutely stoned" the ap- peal court said in a two -to -one judgement released this week. • Rights and freedoms must be pro- tected, of course, but surely a person who gets drunk and heads out on to the highways to endanger the lives of others, must give up some of those rights and freedoms through such dangerous actions. It is ironic that people on their way from sober to drunk can forget their responsibilities, but always remember, their ruts,wk n,t yxr�..moving from, drunk to sober. However, be warned that the case does not suggest that being "absolutely stoned" is a defence against drinking driving charges. Police have taken am- ple notice of the Saskatchewan decision - and will address the matter by process- ing impaired driving charges against such drivers rather than taking breath tests to lay a charge of driving with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit. The penalties are the same in either charge! Only few bad apples Further to comments last week that area residents should indeed be angry over vandalism in- cidents, such as that perpetrated at South Huron District High Schdol recently. those should not cloud the general view of today's young people. Too often people -hear or see the antics of misguided youths and tend to paint all members of that segment of society with the same brush and obviously that is most unfortunate and indeed, even dangerous, because it tends to suggest to young people that if they're going to suffer from all encompassing criticism and scorn they may as well do something to warrant it. In an attempt to balance the scales, readers will retail a pic- ture on last week's front page showing a group of students cleaning up some of the mess at the school. Principal Bruce Shaw explain- ed that other students also volunteered to undertake tasks to get the school back to normal and there were many other calls from area citizens volunteering their facilities and services to assist. The bottom line is that the number who pitched in to help was many times greater than the twowho have been charged with the offence and the latter con- stitute a very small minority of those who stray from the ac- cepted norm for young people. I had the privilege last week of sitting in on the banquet at the Ontario Community Newspaper Association convention when the province's .Junior Citizens were recognized and honoured for their exploits. About a dozen were on the list 'this year, receiving their awards from the former Lieutenant Governor, John Black Aird, and two were from Huron. County. A Coderich girl was singled out for her work in Haiti and a young man from Gorrie was honored for his part in a daring rescue. - Two of the recipients were in Batt'n Around ...with The Editor . wheel chairs and received recognition for community work they undertake, despite their handicaps, and- their list of ac- complishments would make even the most energetic among us wonder from what source they derive their drive. Once again, it should be noted that any young person in the pro- vince is eligible to he nominated for the Junior Citizen designation and it is to be hoped that sooner or later someone from this area will take the initiative to have some young person presented for this award. The benefit to the community is that it could encourage young people to become more active once they see that their efforts can lead to rewards beyond those personal ones which come through service and assistance to others. To wrap up this discourse on kids, some commendation should be passed along to school officials in the area who have presented some valuable programs to. students in the local schools: Yvonne Reynolds has written two major features recently on a program at Hensall when people from the community went to the school to detail some of the pro- blems they or members of their family experience through some afflictions, and one at Precious Blood where people from a varie- ty of professions and vocations told the students of the training needed to reach their career goals and the benefits they derive from those occupations. Every week, it appears, this newspaper also carries photos of events being held at other schools which provide youngsters with an insight into other aspects of their community in a very entertaining way that makes education more fun than most would think possible. There is also the usual round of concerts, public speaking and special events at which the young people display their considerable talents and those will probably grow as spring approaches. The vitality and initiatives be- ing displayed throughout the area schools is strong and 1 sense there is an atmosphere of com- petition among school officia to be in the front line in some these programs and only good can come from that situation. Hopefully parents ate passing along their commendation as an encouragement to the schools to continue the effort and provide their offspring with new horizons and challenges. Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited " I'YE KEN A CONSERVATIVE ALL MY LIFE, dUT SOMEliOW IT FEELS LONGER:' No scientific facts Around this time of the year spring equinox comes around. the time when there is as much daylight as there is night. I never know whether it occurs on March 21st, 22nd, or 23rd, and whether it changes from year to year or not. But I do know enough not to confuse it with a solstice which happens in the middle of December and the middle of , ,. This s NbT a science column as you may have gathered. When I make a point I draw on feelings and convictions, likes and dislikes, common sense and my six senses. Not on anything as banal as scientific facts. There _ wouldn't be any fun in that, would there? So when I lecture today on the spring equinox, don't expect me to fill this space with figures and information that you can look up in your encyclopedia or at the town library. I'm only interested in the equinox because it reminds me of spring. Not that there is anything wrong with winter. But by this time of the year, I've had enough of it. It is time, I believe, for the basic whites and .greys in the landscape to turn into luscious greens, dotted here and there with pinks and reds and yellows and blues. Equinox time is so predictable. The sun rises at seven (give or take half an hour) and sets at seven ( take or give the same half hour). Twelve hours of darkness must give way to twelve hours of light. My houseplants know it, the squirrels and chipmunks know it, the groundhogs in their holes know it, so - to paraphrase Irving Berlin - let's know it, too. Isn't it wonderful that we can finally dismantle the strings of outdoor Christmas lights and pull the extension cords from under the last pieces of ice? Isn't is thrilling to watch the outlines of the septic tank appear in the form of symmetrical green patches? What a luxury to be able to leave the car outside over night and to let all kinds of stuff accumulate in the garage! And to exchange the parka for the raincoat, the heavy boots for toe rubbers, the kids' snowsuits for splash suits. Maybe this column is not as romantic as- 3• thought It would- turn out to be. So herevomes the hot stuff. The following text may offend some readers. Parental and spousal guidance is advised. -- My friend the beekeeper tells me that there is increased activi- ty in his hives. It appears that the queen bees are becoming restless, and the drones are get- ting much less sleep. The birds no sooner arrive from their spring migration than they engage in activities that seem to delight them as much as the people who watch them with binoculars. We have a small colony of groundhogs on our property. In spite of what you may have heard about Groundhog llay, these. rodents never leave their dens until the middle of March. Groun- dhog Day - take it from me - is just a lot of hogwash. No self- respecting groundhog would stick its nose out of its hole on February 2nd. But at the time of the spring equinox, it is another story. The male groundhog (is he called the gr=oundboar?) goes rummaging through all the holes in the neighbourhood where he is ‘velcorned with open paws by the females. Like Sleeping Beauty they have been waiting for their prince for a long time, since Oc- tober. in fact. 1 You find some facts in this column in spite of what I said earlier.) About 28 days later, a bunch of little grotptn- • -dhog4 -etre- horn led somehow, • . 4.14111111.10.11-••• Like in the case of family education in our schools, this col- umn, too, must move slowly and gently from the innocuous in- vertebrates to the hectic humans. For in our species as well strange stirrings are felt beginning with the equinox, whenever its precise moment may occur. And unless you're prepared for the conse- quences. don't get your hair done right now and don't wear that new outfit. Otherwise domesticated and —predictable men . have been known to go completely out of control at the stroke of spring equinox. On the other hand, well- bred women who don't remember their wedding an- niversaries. let alone their honey- moons, may suddenly attack their husbands or substitutes thereof in a valiant effort to regain some of the memories they once possessed. Yes, spring equinox canbe atangerous time for the unsuspecting. I have tried to write in such a way that even if this newspaper should fall into the hands of im- mature children or spouses, not much harm is done. 1 must, however, warn you that neither I nor this newspaper will in any way be responsible for whatever may (or may fail to) happen to readers of this column during, before or after spring equinox. Color law is farce I never thought I'd be writing • a column about margarine and butter but as I sit down to write today I'm really angry about a provincial law which as far as 1 am concerned makes a farce of our democratic system. If you have read these columns before you know that I have often supported farmers and the pro- blems which face them. At the same time 1 don't agree with what they and the Milk Marketing Board have pressured the government into doing. As I see it the butter producers of Ontario have had a law pass- ed which forbids margarine be- ing coloured the same shade of yellow as natural butter.•You can buy margarine in twounappetiz- ing shades: lard white or egg yolk yellow. Butter sells at a price roughly 3 times that of margarine. For a while you could buy Quebec margarine. It is a high quality product which as far as I am concerned tastes, melts and looks like butter. Now suppliers have been told that they will he By the Way by Syd Fletcher charged if they continue to sell that.brand. Let's see now. How would the dairy* farmers like it if , the government passed a law against any tractors built in Alberta? On- ly those without power take -offs could be sold here in Ontario. It wouldn't matter if the Alberta, tractor with an excellent power • take -off was cheaper than the one built in Ontario and local farmers really liked it, After all we have to protect the tractor builders here in good old Ontario. You can het the screaming would he heard from here to Ottawa. - I might note too- that the margarine is made from soybean oil, another local farm product. I wonder .how the farmers who grow soybeans feel about that kind of discrimination. If butter cannot compete price - wise then let the market -place determine its fate. Let's not manipulate .the law to suit a privileged section of the business world. As far as I am concerned I refuse to buy another pound of butter until that discriminatory, hyprocritical law is repealed. I urge • my readers to com- municate with their MPPs about this issue.