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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-04-22, Page 4Pogo 4 Times-Advocote, April 22, 1987 Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1I 81 Amalgama ed 1924 .' yrs.'. . • Ames Published Each • Second. dvocate nesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1So ss Mail Registration NMmber 0386. Phone 519.235-1331A• UP ',CNA . Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited LORNE EEDY Publisher • BILL BATTEN Editor ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor JIM BECKETT HARRY L)FVRIIS DICK JONGKIND Advertising Manager Composition Manager Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada; $25.00 Per year; U.S.A. $65.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' Encompassing subject Area elementary teachers can be ex- cused if they left the recent professional development day in Exeter with the stag- gering realizaton that they face a multitude of powers and responsibilities in areas in which the schools and the law co -exist. That, of course, is often a problem faced by their students when a full day is turned over to an encompassing sub- ject on which they have limited background. It tends to leave any student bewildered and, even -frightened perhaps, when subjected to facts and opi- nions that appear rather onerous. Hopefully, the teachers have now had ample time to recover from the bar- rage to realize that they will never be confronted with many of the problems outlined to them, and even on the rare oc- casion when they are, there is a strong • support staff in the community to come to their assistance as represented by many of the groups from which speakers for the event were drawn. Still, there is the nagging and disconcerting feeling that society in general, and the schools as a major focus in that society, are confronted with an ever-increasing number of problems that reflect a deteriorating standard among many of -those who make up that society. Conversely, there are those who can argue with- some validity, that the pro- blems areno more acute than in the past; the differencebeing that now they are merely being acknowledged and solu- tions' being attempted. While schools must share so a of the responsibility for problems st riming from past and present student it is -evi- dent that many parents hav failed in their roles as have all other egments of the communities in which those pro- blems arise. .There is further evidence that many of the problems arise . from society's general fascinat-ion with rights but little regard for responsibilities. Surely the rampant growth of social agencies in recent years should send out a warning signal that the foundation from which the next generation is springing is in need of some serious assessment and. it should be disconcerting to many when teachers at the elementary level have no trouble filling a day's program relating to the law as it pertains to them and their young -students., - Welcome change? A seasoned (better than.saying old) staff member suggested that last week's headline in this .newspaper which con-- tained reference to Whalen was probably the first time in the 114 -year history of the publication that the hamlet ever made it into that category. While those of us who are much younger would have difficulty in arguing the point, it is probably even safer to say that at no time has Whalen ever ap- peared in the same headline as the Town of Southampton. In reality, the two communities have little in common, but all that may change as they could soon represent the north and south boundaries of the riding of Huron -Bruce. Some residents of Whalen, although probably not all, have visited Southamp- ton on their way to holiday or fishing outings, but they have nothing in the way of economic or social ties with that com- munity and probably would prefer to have been linked with the ridings of Perth or Middlesex in that they enjoy more rap- port and ties with communities in those two. The same could probably be said for most residents of South Huron whose commerical, social and political needs tend to travel in a southerly direction and not north through Kincardine, Port Elgin and Southampton. Being deposited at the bottom end of a riding can be detrimen- tal in some ways, and while there naturally must be communities in that position, they do have the right to object if they see that as being a considerable disadvantage. It is something on which "the area's municipal councils should give some thought. . MP Murray Cardiff is correct in noting that communities along the Lake Huron shoreline have much in common and the new boundaries have advantages for them. In addition, all of Huron re- mains in one riding and the riding representative still only has two counties with which to deal, which he properly concludes is better than a riding which may cross over three or four county lines. .There are obviously advantages and disadvantages of the proposed boun- daries and now is the time for area residents to consider those and make any appropriate comments to Mr. Cardiff if they see the disadvantages as being too onerous. • Frightening concept I happened to be in a toy store not too'long•ago and came upon a little crowd of people standing around a very life -like teddy beer. The bear has a built-in sound box and is able to syn- chronize the moving of its mouth with the spoken words. The stories it tells are quite adventurous and the background music is delightful. Just clown the aisle was another talking animal, this time a representation of Mother Goose. Price? Well, you wouldn't have much left of a hundred dollar bill for either one, let me tell you. It's rather a frightening con- cept when you think of it, isn't it. First off, the price itself is scarey. A hundred dollars would buy a lot of food or medicine for somebody in a third world country. Secondly, as a teacher I am not impressed with the books which accompany the bear. Instead of at least having• the exact text which is being spoken by the animal it has an abridged version which cannot be Jogically follow- ed by the child. If every word was By the Way • b•y Fletcher • printtd in the book then eventual- ly the child would follow it and would be able to learn some readingfrom the repetition. • The biggest problem though that I see with this type of toy is the destruction of relationships between children and parents. Mom and dad buy "a talking bear to tell the little ones Stories instead of doing the job themselves. They often don't have the time to sit in a big easy chair with, the youngster cuddled up there listening wide-eyed to a story which can't possibly be dramatized better than mom and dad can do it. Instead, since they've spent a hundred bucks on the toy it better be used by the kids. They better appreciate how much the parents care. I think that too many people in our society think that they have to buy the love of their children. They give the kids expensive ghetto blasters, clothes, records and then pile a Toad of guilt on the youngsters because they've done so much for them. It strikes me that the little child would far rather have the per- sonal attention of the parent for a few minutes each night than some animated robot which is not much better than a record player. "IT ALL STARTED WITH AN ARGUMENT OVER CAPITAL PUNISHMENT— SHE WAS AGAINST IT ! " Time Some time in the next few weeks, this nation's elected representatives will be voting on a move to return the death penal- ty and it is rather interesting, .although somewhat disconcer- ting as well, that the matter ap- pears of little interest to area residents; - .. It in no way can be considered as one of those hot topics of con- versation and infact the writer has never even heard it broach- ed in public or private discussions and not one letter to the editor has apper• 'd in this newspaper to spark _ lebate, a ther pro or con. 1 may be mistaken, but there is considerable doubt that many people have even taken the time to write their local MP -to sway him in the formation of an opinion that will be the basis for the vote he'll cast on behalf of all those in his riding. One of the reasons for the lack of interest may be explained on the suggestion that it is something on which area residents have no strong convic- tions either way, or that it is a platter that they feel will have no consequences for them. Obviously, that is an incorrect assumption, because as members of society, they hold responsibility for any action taken on behalf of that society. In reality, only those who make their opinions known can escape some sense of the guilt which falls on society when the final decision on any matter is made by the majority who have been granted the power to make that decision. To bring that issue closer to home, it must be explained that Huron -Bruce MP Murray Cardiff to be counted has indicated his support for the return of the death penalty and it follows that the overwhelming silence coming from his con- stituents signal consent. . * * * * * . Well, for the record, the writer does not share the MP's opinion that the death penalty should be reinstated in this nation, primari- Batt'n Around ...with The Editor ly because there is no evidence to suggest it acts as a deterrent. On the other side of the coin, it presents the possibility of an ir- reversible error being made and there have been comparatively recent cases in Ontario and Nova Scotia where persons convicted of murder, and who would have been subject to the death penal- ty had it been in place, have been released from prison after seven and eleven years respectively, when it was determined they had been improperly convicted. There a1;e similar situations in both the U.S. and England and the knowledge that an innocent citizen in the latter had been ex- ecuted was a major reason for the country's abolition of the death penalty and defeat of at- tempts to restore it on 18 occasions. Another major consideration is that research supports the view that juries are more reluctant to convict for offences punishable by death than they are if the max- imum penalty is life imprison- ment. Jurors recognize that ex- ecution is irrevocable and their uneasiness in voting for. convic- tions that lead to that result, un- fortunately means that some guilty persons will go entirely free. Finally, statistics from jurisdictions where the- death penalty is in place, show that it is usually applied in a discriminatory way against minorities and the poor. That ex- ample can be seen in sentences for other crimes in this country. * * * * * In most cases, there is no deter- rent value in capital punishment and the vengeance it extracts is difficult to support on moral grounds. Most people who murder do not see beyond their action; they kill quickly in moments of great fear or emotional stress and under the influence of drugs or alcohol. When the crime is premeditated, the individual believes he or she will not be apprehended. Surely the prospect of 25 years in jail is not much less feared than execution. The death penalty does not even protect policemen or prison guards to any appreciable extent, and in some cases, would put them -at greater risk when con- fronting a killer who has nothing to lose. An execution .,cannot restore life or lessen the loss for the vic- tim's survivors and often tends to draw attention away from them and focus it on the person killed by the state while adding further to the cycle of violence that can only be broken by less vengeful actions by society. Mone is- an abstr-acty Our kids still have no real no- tion about money. Oh, they get their weekly allowance for the chores they do, and they're able to spend it any way they please. So they're learning about nickels and dimes. And Alexander may carry a few dollars around in his wallet. But when it comes to anything bigger than a ten -dollar bill, it is all 'abstract to them. Just as I don't really fathom the difference between a billion and trillion light years. The other day our hydro bill ar- rived. That's always good for a few hours of depression on my part. You see, we pay a certain amount every month, based on an estimate. And then every three months or so, the ketchup bill comes that tells me how much juice we have really used, and how much money I owe the friendly Utility company. . The only good parts are the Tura! rate assistance (thank you, city folk. for this favour! ) and the prompt payment discount. Everything else on the bill is shocking. This time the grand total after all credits and partial payments were deducted came to $345.66. Three hours later, when I had recovered sufficiently from shock and depression, I decided to send a cheque right away, because once or twice in the past I had forgotten the deadline for the dis- count, and that had caused another depression, As I was writing the cheque, I thought of all sorts of things' $345.66 would buy, like a weekend without the kids, a new spring wardrobe for Elizabeth, four new tires for the station wagon, three new bicycles for the kids. So 1 started talking about the cost of electricity in general, and in our household in particular. What was it, I wondered aloud, that ate up 8,100 kilowatt-hours in 89 days tan average of 91 kWh a day►? I tried to explain to my yawning audience that it was the equivalent of burning a 100 Watt light bulb for 910 hours a day. Not PETER'S POINT • • possible, said Elizabeth. How about burning 100 such light bulbs for 9.1 hours every day? "How many light bulbs do we have?" asked Alexander. "I don't think we have 100", said Elizabeth, "hut we've got a washer and dryer, a dishwasher, two fridges, a freezer, a TV, a VCR, a hot water heater, a fur- nace, and •electrical baseboard heaters". Elizabeth has a very analytical mind, but she doesn't pay the hydro hill. "I still think we could cut down a little", I said. "What do you -suggest?" asked Elizabeth, "that we sit in the dark till the sun sets every night, that we wash our clothes in the creek? I suppose we could all (pregnant pause and nod in my direction) take less and shorter showers." Them I came -up with this brilliant idea. Of course I didn't advocate any stringent measures like using candles instead of elec- tric lights or reducing the degree of cleanliness around the house. But I did feel that everybody in the family could become a little economy -minded. Here is what I proposed. Whenever the ketchup bill comes around, Elizabeth should pay five per cent, and each child one tenth of one per cent out of their own pockets. In the case of the current hill, I ex- plained, this would amount to 17.28 for Elizabeth, and 35 cents for each child. That way,' everybody would have an incen- tive to save energy, to turn lights off that are not needed. Stephanie said: "That's a whole week's allowance for me!" "And for me," echoed Duncan. Wisely Alexander, who gets a $2.00 allowance every week, kept his mouth shut. "No fair!" protested Stephanie and Duncan. "Do you think it's fair to me," I asked, "that Ihave to pay the whole bill all by myself, when nobody is careful except me?" "What do you think about my suggestion?" I asked.Elizabeth, but when I turned around I realiz- ed that she had quietly, slipped out Of the room. I found her in the kitchen telephoning onr han- dyman. "Mac, I want you•to give me an estimate on how much it - would cost to insulate this drafty old house of ours, to fill all the cracks, to install proper windows, and to fix our front entrance so that the outer door doesn't fly open when you close the inner door. No, it's not Peter you're dealing with this time, it's me. I want the estimate. As soon as possible." No more has been said since then about hydro bills or about turning off lights.