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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-07-15, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, July 15, 1987 Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgama ed 1924 BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 imes - dvocate Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 150 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager Phone 519-235-1331 jjyy eNA ccw� 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' Differing stances Mayor Bruce Shaw's threat to secede from Huron County in an angry outburst this week appears an attempt to bring some Exeter concerns with the county council to a head, although it is discouraging that there are some major conflicts between he and some of his four fellow mayors in various positions. The report stated that all the mayors are considerably chagrined that the county has not formally acknowledged their proposal for the creation of a • county -wide -economic development of- fice with professional staff to promote in-, dustrial growth and job creation. Howevef , this week Exeter's brief to a committee reviewing the status of coun- ty government, took an entirely differing opinion about economic development, saying that new powers should not be granted to county council in the area of _ economic development. "It is our strong feeling that these responsibilities are within the local municipality's jurisdiciton and can best be handled at this level." Goderich Mayor Eileen Palmer was chagined that the county ignored the towns' request for an economic develop- ment officer, but to have done otherwise would have been contradictory to Ex- eter's stance in moving into economic development. The five county mayors also have dif- fering opinions on the matter of libraries. Shaw claimsthat Exetershould maintain its own library, while Seaforth's AIf Ross and Clinton's John Balfour think libraries should remain in tl}e county hands. The Goderich and Wingham mayors have not formulated an opinion in that regard as yet so that's a topic county council ob- viously must have difficulty apprising. Another strange situation pertains to the figures being presented by the mayors regarding the population split in Huron. The 1986 census shows the towns have 34.6 percent of the population, although Shaw believes it is 40 percent. 'Joined by the villages, their total urban population is 42.5 percent, although the Wingham and Clinton mayor claim it is over 50 percent and the latter says it could soon reach 70 percent. The latter will take an inordinately long time to ever reach that, if it ever does, and using their figures to suggest. the urban representation on county coun- cil is not realistic. The current represen- tation from the towns is low in com- parison to population, while the villages are high. The townships are only out four percent and so to make amends, the towns should primarily get their stronger voice at the expense of the villages, and not from the townships by any ap- preciable extent. Balfour was quoted as saying the five towns should be guaranteed at least two or three seats on county council. Obvious- ly the representation should use some basis other than being "a town" and he fails to note that Stephen Township has over 1,000 more people than Clinton and two others are in the same neighborhood. Three have population greater than Seaforth and another three are in the same range. The mayors should obviously review the population figures and come up with some plausible basis for representation rather than merely guessing or making claims for town representatives that are out of line in comparison to some of the townships. The bo, n -line i that the townships have 57:4 percent of the population, and while their -representation is slightly over that, they still have the legitimate balance.ofpower and will have for some' time. The other four mayorsremained strangely silent on Exeter's plan to withdraw from the services of the coun- ty planning department, although it would be interesting to know how they view the prospect of having to pick up Exeter's current share of the cost if the town wins that battle. It is clear that the- five have differ- ing opinions on such topics as economic development, libraries, planning and a few more, although they appear to share the opinion very clearly that county coun- cil'must take more interest in the urban centres and the warden should improve the communication with the mayors and help other members understand more clearly some of the concerns of the towns. Shaw's blast no doubt has shocked some rural representatives, although it is to be hoped the latter will view it as a need to understand some of the problems and not merely to throw up their hands in disgust. The situation should cool off so the concerns which prompted the headlines can be discussed in some frank, two-way communications that will enable the rural and urban officials to more clear- ly understand each other and resolve to set some new goals for Huron. There will, of course, always he dif- fering opinions between rural and urban officials on some topics, but history and current event,ahows that there will also be differingopinions between some rural areas -a there are between the five towns. Marks anniversary. This, year makes an anniver- sary of sorts for me in the field of writing. j have been writing a weekly newspaper column for ten years. It appears with different names in different papers but it is the same article in each of the papers each week. Ten years of writing means roughly about 500 articles or about the equivalent of a full length novel. I usually try to write about 3 weeks ahead. The deadline is a Monday night and in theory 1 could send the columns out the .week before by mail and could have them there on time. in prac- tice though i end up writing the columns on Sunday night and - then i have to delivtrr them by car. I Over the ten ears i have not missed too man deadlines.,One week I was in the hospital and didn't get the columns written or. time. Orr set of three weeks back • By the Way 1, Syd Fletcher in January of this year i�fluffed completely. Somehow had -in my head that I had done the col- umns up to such a date and was totally wrong. Fortunately i have some forgiving editors. Sometimes i've come up to the deadline and have been a little frustrated. The ideas have just not been there on demand and as the minutes tick by the page before me has been correspon- dingly empty. sometimes the columns have touched a raw nerve and i've had some angry letters back from readers. Topics such as abortion versus the right to life, post -office service, and politics have found people with some opinions op- posite to my own and they have pertainly lambasted me right back. People have often telephoned me or caught me on the street to comment on a particular story..[ must admit it makes me feel good when that happens.. it makes the time spent on writing something down quite a bit more worthwhile. Anyway, after ten years I'm still here taking up some space. See you next week. Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited MES:4;14:';.:41*.k:H ((ft. GREAr HEWS - YOUR POPULARITY'S LEVELLED OFF ! Ciii'iiiiiiIR/11/1■!•//1•///■I•11111111At /I/I■1/■41u11/IUUN /■p4v1/11//II/■/■ NMI '1a/i//1/■111t/I/■/I/1111■/A111IiaHX H1I/ ■1111 wmosinu ■ ■■i111111111 M111111r••11111111N/ Jti 1111111111r1111ML:__--__.20 car Costs One of the ironies of Exeter council delaying any talk about policing on a formal basis is that they appear to be waiting for some direction in that regard from the five -member Huron mayors' ad hoc committee. At the outset that appeared practical in view of the fact the mayors considered having the towns undertake any such study as a whole. However, Mayor Bruce Shaw has already advised that the .mayors have now dismissed any such suggestion for a type of regional police force because the cost would be more prohibitive than now. That puts the question square- ly back on the lap of the local council and waiting for any direc- tion from the mayors is dubious when the latter have already reached a decision according to Shaw's comments. Even the brief discussion at the most recent council meeting in- dicates some varying opinions and it is further ironical to note that this is not the first time that considering using the OPP has been broached. The writer can recall several years ago attending a meeting of council representatives from . many urban centres in this area where policing was on the agen- da. Some statistics and cost estimates were provided from the OPP, but no change was made in policing. At that time, Exeter had only two or three policemen, and now to reopen such consideration in- creases the ramifications great - 1y as the force has now more than doubled and the town owns a are con trolled comparatively new police facili- ty that -represents a sizeable investment. Perhaps the present members of the police department can take some consolation in knowing that the size of the problem is even greater now than when it was dismissed some years ago. * During some of the public discussion that has hit the media Batt'n Around ...with The Editor over the past couple of weeks, the cost of policing has undoubtedly been the major consideration in some municipal spokespeople's comments. "It's just the bloody costs," Shaw was quoted as say- ing and that theme ran through most of the opinions garnered from other civic leaders. The reality, of course, is that those municipal leaders control the costs and have no others but themselves to blame if the police budgets have been allowed to blossom and reach points where they are considered astronomical. There are other factors as well. One is that members of the police departments have fought as hard as possible for the highest wage scales possible and the best benefits they can bargain. Innocen t Not too long ago smoking was fashionable. Men and boys prov- ed their masculinity by sticking cigarettes in their faces. Women in curlers, a fag dangling from their mouth, were a common sight ( fright) in supermarkets. Young girls were convinced that yellowed fingertips enhanced their appearance. In those days non-smokers were regarded as odd. In a smok- ing society they were outcasts. I used to be reluctant to admit that I didn't smoke. i occasionally pretended to be "with it" by puf- fing without inhaling. Then somebody discovered that smoking was bad for the health. Not only the nicotine, but also the tar, the carbon and other ingredients of tobacco were caus- ing diseases and premature death. The pressure was on to quit smoking - for your own good. And lots of people did quit. Others refused or didn't know how. Still everybody was talking only about the risk to smokers themselves. Suddenly medical experts found (what had taken them so long?) that, the smoke emitted by smokers endangered the health of others. Non-smoking wives, husbands, children, co- workers and others risked disease and premature death as well. _.That's when the situation changed. Non-smokers realized that what they had always fouQd annoying - the smoke blown in their faces; the rooms filled with stale smoke - was also shortening their lives. No longer could smokers excuse t themselves: "i'm only hurting myself; leave me alone". Smoking had become everybody's business. J The other is that many citizens have demanded the best police protection possible and that has enlarged departments, the train- ing of the personnel. and-. the equipment needed to make them .effective. So, if the current costs which are dumbfounding many elected officials and ratepayers are pushing them to consider the OPP alternative on the basis of cost primarily, they must realize their implication in that. Municipal police who may be a little jittery at the current discus- sion must also realize their im- plication in helping to create the cost situation others want to correct. * * * * * There's little doubt that it will prove very interesting if Exeter proceeds on having the OPP pro- vide a cost comparison. However, it is imperative that all remember that cost is not the lone factor to be considered and allthe pros and cons of the myriad of other :actors must be detailed in the deliberations preceding any decision. Council members must guarantee that they will address all the points, unless they can satisfy themselves and others that all other factors are equal and the cost is in fact the only dif- ference that may show up. At this point, it appears there are dif- ferences, and,that may make the final decision, the most difficult, but it must be put into the context of the present costs being con- trolled by those who now see them as the biggest problem. There are ways to cut costs! victims Back in the days when the world was run by smokers, they 'didn't even ask whether it was alright to light up their cigaret- tes. cigars or pipes in my home or office. They took it for granted that I would put up with their pollution without complaining. When tobacco ads began to in - PETER'S POINT • elude carefully worded warnings, when the first non-smoking areas appeared in restaurants, some - not all - smokers learned to ask: "Do you mind if i smoke?" The expected answer was, of course: "No, go right ahead". 'Any other reply would have been regarded as an affront. (tiding (he ashtrays didn't work either. The smokers visiting my home would root around until they tracked them down behind the flower vases in the cupboard. or else they would deposit their ashes and butts in the kitchen sink, the potted plants yr on the floor. That's another thing about smokers: many of them have atrocious manners. They litter the roads and the countryside. They burn table tops and upholstery. They start forest fires and burn down buildings. And they continue to blow their foul , smoke in my face. We have arrived in 1987. Smok- ing is known to cause a variety of illnesses; diseases and early death in smokers and non- smokers. And I have changed my approach in regard to the offenders. 1 have thrown away my. ashtrays. 1 have banned people from smoking in my home. my office and my car. When I see people smoking where it is pro- hibited. i ask them to butt out. And when people ask me: "Do you mind if i smoke?". i answer: "Yes. I do mind." How would they like it if I set off a stink bomb in their home? i refuse to attend meetings where smoking is permitted, and (won't eat in restaurants that fail to pro - wide a non-smoking area. Don't get me wrong. i don't hate smokers. They are people like you and me. Misguided. miserable, pathetic and doomed they might be. but we still have to live with them. All we can do 'for them is to urge them to quit. But it's time we showed them who is in charge. They are in the minority. They are hangers-on to an outdated, old-fashioned, useless, harmful custom. They must realize that the rest of us barely tolerate them. That we regard them as. sorry specimens, as puffing and coughing, smelling individuals. The time when smoking •ws "cool", "hip", "sophisticated" or "mundane" has long passed. And smoking is eertainlw not sexy. Why, kissing a lady who smokes is like inhaling a dirty ashtray. if i have hurt you in this col- umn. I'm sorry. i've done it for you, for me, and for a lot of other innocent victims.