Loading...
Times-Advocate, 1987-06-10, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, June 10, 1987 Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgama ed 1924 BLUE RIBBON AWARD r imes dvocate . Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 150 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. \ Phone S19-235-1331 !PCNA LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager 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' Review the philosophy The question of impost fees in Exeter has resulted in some rather heated debates recently and there are obvious- ly many differing views on the subject that may not be resolved to the satisfaction of all. While some may be encouraged by council's decision to turn the issue over to the general government committee for a complete review, that will be tempered somewhat in the realization the action was precipitated primarily on a note by one elected official that the current im- post fee is modest in comparison to other municipalities, Impost fees are designed primarily to meet some of the costs involved by a municipality in the expansion generated through new subdivisions or in -filling in other areas as the growth brings direct or indirect demand on services. While developers now- have to pro- vide many of the hard services for their subdivisions that are passed on to lot pur- chasers, there are others faced solely by the municipality, an example being the expansion of a sewage lagoon to handle the increased flow. Many other services are based on an- nual requirements and owners of new hornes pay their equal share on their taxes, such as policing, fire protection, recreation, garbage collection, coun- cillors' stipends, etc. One of the requirements for council in their deliberation over impost fees, is to review in depth the principle involved in establishing such fees and the need they are intended to meet. The philosophy may indicate that the square footage of a lot or the frontage on a street should be taken into considera- tion or perhaps the charge should be bas- ed on some other component on which it was orginially established. The passage of time and those who made the original decision has possibly clouded current members' understan- ding of the fee and that should be refresh- ed before the mechanics are,called into discussion. Have to start somewhere Finishing third in a three-way con- test normally doesn't give anyone brag- ging rights. There are exceptions, of course, one being a novice ending up in that position against more seasoned pro- fessionals and perhaps even more impor- tant, that at least the third place finisher attempted the feat and can get full brag- ging rights to that over those who didn't even enter. Both exceptions can be used in Ex- eter's first attempt in the recent Canada - wide Participation Fitness Day and hopefully the initial results will spur residents into greater action next year to . improve their position. The real winners were the 50.67 per- cent who got involved and no doubt pro- ved to themselves that participation can be fun as well as bringing physical rewards when it spurs a more continued and dedicated approach to keeping fit. The real losers were'the 49.33 percent who didn't get involved, and not only didn't reap any physical reward, but showed that their involvement in com- munity events is basically nil and thereby a rebuff to all those who worked so hard to organize the day and wanted only a few minutes of worthwhile effort on the part of those served. You must start somewhere and hopefully the other percentage will see the challenge next year and ensure that Exeter gets to its deserving point atop the placements. Insults passed along Hopefully, residents of our friendly neighboring municipalities of llensall and Thedford don't stop to read ar- ticles appearing in the daily press about London council proceedings. The two rural communities were directly slighted by a com- ment made by one council member, and probably all other rural municipalities were in- sulted by implication. Councillor Paul Yorke, in fighting against the retention of an area of angle parking in Lon- don, said it was dangerous to back into traffic. Ile went on to explain he had visited Toronto earlier and saw no angle parking and blasted London's downtown angle parking as "a llensall ap- proach... a horse and buggy ap- proach... a Thedford approach." While Yorke has apparently never driven down Ilensall's main drag. and I assume no one there is upset over his non -visits, he should be told that llensall emerged from the horse and buggy age as early as Toronto and angle parking is not allowed. In fact, most motorists would have to cover a considerable distance to find other than Lon- don in that area. There are appropriate responses to Yorke's comments which reflect badly on rural municipalities, but let's leave that up to his fellow council cohort, Grant Hoperoft, who sug- gested Yorke could have made his point "without insulting everyone who comes from a mall town." Grant is a former resident of Dashwood and knows well of what he speaks and it is en- couraging to the rural masses that at least one member of the city council has an insight into the progressive leadership exhibited by those who come from a small town. It is interesting to note that Yorke lost his fight and angle parking will be retained on Lon- don's Dundas St. between Well- ington and Waterloo. Grant was among those oppos- Batt'n Around ...with The Editor ing Yorke in the voting and no doubt that is because his area roots run deep and he enjoys knowing that his hometown never follows a horse and buggy ap- proach, even though his current community may do so. i * • * * There are many of us who have dreams of wealth and it is occa- sionally a consternation to those of us who note that others reach those dreams: Many get -rich schemes are touted and people line up to pay huge sums to hear from speakers who tell how easy it is to reach the goals. I have often suspected that the wealth accumulated by those speakers comes, not from follow- ing their own advice, but in mere- ly taking in the admission price from those who come to hear them. That opinion may be backed by the recent announcement that a man who made a fortune telling others how to get rich by in- vesting in real estate with no money down has filed for bankruptcy. Albert Lowry, who made millions by publishing a book that sold to millions and further millions by having his audience pay him millions to listen, ap- parently made one major blunder. Ile took his own advice and invested in the real estate business in the inflation -ridden '70s. • Now he is among those of us just back to our dreams! There was an interesting discussion about garbage at Ex- eter council the other night and the topic is wor.hy of more discussion and moves to prevent the quickly approaching situation where society is going to be buried in the stuff. Few people realize the vast amount of rotting material that is dumped in landfill sites and fills them up with all the related problems. From that standpoint, periodic garbage workers' strikes such as that which recently occurred in London, gives residents o much clearei• picture of the amount of stuff involved, although it is not appetizing to see and quite offen- sive to noses. However, London citizens now have a rather clear picture of what is involved and hopefully remedies will be found in area communities before landfill operations continue to eat up valuable land at an alarming pace. • • p Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited "I was happy and carefree 'till the media, economists and assorted politicians told me howbad off I am." Capital punishment I can sympathize with both sides in the debate on capital punishment. At least with the moderates on both sides. You may argue: how can you be moderate about killing? Is it possible to hang a man moderate- ly'' When I say moderate, I mean the reasoning, not the execution. • I agree with the moderates who say that hanging is not a deter- rent to murder. And I also agree with them when they say that all killing is evil, even the killing of a killer. I certainly would not wish to be an executioner, and I don't know how we can expect anyone to commit such a despicable act on our behalf. But I am also in agreement with the moderates on the other side who feel that society ought to have maximum protection from dangerous criminals, and that the only way this protection can be guaranteed is by permanent- ly ermanently eliminating killers who have placed themselves outside society. I have little use for the militants who are chomping the bits to bring hanging back at all cost. I mistrust their motives. They are driven by feelings of outrage and revenge. It could be just a small step from their idea of "swift justice" to a lynching and to the law of the jungle. On the other hand, I fail to see the logic of those who advocate saving the lives even of mass murders because "all human life is sacred". And this is where my main argument lies. I must take a stand on this im- portant issue. I used to oppose the death penalty completely, and. I still abhor the idea of hanging or any other form of execution. But I have become convinced that -under certain circumstances - to be determined by our judiciary - murderers should be put of death to save innocent lives. One argument against hanging is that the wrong person might die. Errors of justice have oc- curred and may occur again. True, every system has its flaws. But in my opinion this is a risk we have to take. It is much riskier to lock murderers up in maximum security prisons because (a) they ,might escape and murder again, and (b) they might be freed on parole or par- don and murder again. I venture to guess (I have no statistics) that more innocent people have died in Canada in the last ten years at the hands of freed or escaped con- victs than have died in the last hundred years as the result of judicial errors. The lives of victims are sacred, too The state has the duty to pro- tect the lives of its citizens, and we as individuals have the moral obligation to respect and hold sacred the lives of our fellow human beings. The sanctity of life needs to be safeguarded by our laws and by our conscience. No one will find fault with that. Our moral dilemma is that we are forced to weigh the sacred lives of murderers against the sacred lives of potential innocent victims. - By sparing the life of one homicidal sex offender with a record of two or three murders, we may endanger the lives of one or more law-abiding citizens. This is completely irresponsible and inexcusable. The state - through Parliament and the courts - must get its priorities straight. I don't want to get into an argument over who is more valuable to society, a hardened criminal a ru professionalor, a psexomising maniacyoor ng an innocent little school girl. A com- parison of that nature can easily lead into the realm of emotions. Whose life are we going to save? But I feel that we must make a choice: which lives are we going to save? Thoseof the killers or those of future victims? I am not without concern for the criminal. I am convinced that some murderers have been suc- cessfully rehabilitated and that more can be returned to a normal useful life. But I have far greater concern for the victims. For those whose lives were already taken and for those whose lives are placed in peril. And I am con- cerned for the families of victims whose suffering may be far worse and last much longer than that of the victim or the killer. Hanging is a revolting business. The hangman's noose is not a pretty sight. But even more revolting is the sight of a brutal- ly slain victim butchered by a repeat killer because the state has its priorities upside down. Corporal punishment One of the current controver- sies in some school jurisdictions presently is over the use of the strap as a method of corporal punishment. In some municipalities it is totally forbid- den, in others it is discouraged, and instill others it is a common procedure. Lambton County Board of Education falls under the second category. Although principals are still allowed to use the strap they are actively discouraged from doing so. Several years ago they were asked to place a three month moratorium on its use. During the three month period the use of the leather decreased by about 70 percent to80 percent and has since stayed at a very low level. I can remember my first en- counter with the trap. I was in Grade 5 at the time and all of 9 years old, a little freckle - faced redhead who tried reasonably hard to please his teachers. I spent much of my time with a book under my desktop reading, not bothering anyone. John Henderson sat behind me By the Way by Syd Fletcher and couldn't understand why I liked reading so much. He would repeatedly kick me under the desk or poke me to get my atten- tion. Usually I could ignore him but this particular book must have been pretty good because when he kicked me I kicked back. Mr. Stein, in a very terrible voice, called us to his desk and proceeded to strap both of us in front of the class. Twice on each hand, as 1 remember. I remember the shame and humiliation more than the pain. Over the years I have strapped several children Looking back I cannot honestly say that the punishment was really that effec- tive or that the student was made into a better person because of it. On the contrary he would usual- ly find some petty way to get revenge hack on the system, such as carving some swear word on the washroom wall. I know the saying is "Spare the "rod and spoil the child" but I don't really believe that you can get somebody's respect by beating him, and' without a child's respect a teacher isn't go- ing to instil much love of learning in that youngster. tivitYx • "AHA -AUGHT You READING CIGARETTE ADS!"