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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1989-05-10, Page 6Times -Advocate, May 10, 1989 Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 QNt. BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S0 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 519-235-1331 ROSS HAUGH Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager • PCNA IIM BECKETT Publisher & Advertising Manager DON SMITH Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $25.00 Per year; U.S.A. $65.00 Time to rebuild Now that John Turner has an- nounced he is stepping down as leader of the Liberals in Ottawa, the time has come for the party to think of rebuilding. Not many Canadians were surprised that Turner is calling it quits. It's been sort of a general acceptance since the No- vember federal election that he would va- cate his position. The only question was when it would happen. Turner, who will pilot the Liberals un- til a leadership convention is called, like- ly late this year, leaves after a perilous five years as leader of a party that has. still a long road to hoe before it can suc- cessfully challenge the Progressive Con- servatives. . The leadership of Turner was on rocky ground right from the beginning as former Prime Minister Pierre Tru- deau handed out a long list of patronage plums before leaving and Turner let them stand. Shortly afterwards, these appointments came back to trouble Turner in the 1984 election campaign. He was brutally at- taeked by Conservative leader Brian Mulroney in the TV debate of that year and his weak defence was that he had no choice but to approve and accept the pat- ronage appointments. The Conservatives swept into office with the largest majority in Canadian his- tory and a number of observers were penning Turner's obituary. Despite crticism from members of his own caucus, Turner held on and the fact he was able to maintain control and lead his party into another election campaign is testimony enough to the fighting spirit of the Liberal leader. He came back strongly in the 1988 cam- paign and beat Brian Mulroney fair and square on the free trade issue in the tele- vision debate. Although the Liberals did not gain victory, they did pick up enough seats to give Turner a new measure of re- spect. This campaign was his finest hour. Turner appears to have chosen a good time, not only for himself, but for the party to resign, since it will likely be an- other four years before we go to the polls again. This should give the party enough time to get its act together. In the months ahead, the party will have more than a leadership race to deal with. There has been a rift in the caucus over the Meech Lake accord and this will have to be healed before the Liberals can move ahead again. The upcoming leadership race should be upbeat, but after the hoopla settles. down, the new leader will have to put the highest priority on getting the party back on the right track again. While some may remember Turner as serving the second shortest term (79 days in 1984).as Prime Minister of Canada; he should be- recognized as being responsi- ble for the fact the majority of Canadians voted against free trade. He was a strong Canadian, a leader with integrity and a great sense of mission. As Ontario Premier David Peterson said, "He articulated the soul and values of the party." By Ross Haugh The lusty month of May May is about the only month in which I get any work done. Vol- umes have been written about the lusty month of May. Idon't think the magic of this month has anything to do with the birds and the bees and the energy Mother Nature dishes out so generously at this time of the year. I'm not affectedby that kind of thing. Not at my age, surely. • As far as I'm concerned, May is the winner by default. All the oiler months are quite iml3dSsi- ble. - January is a wipe-out because of the after -Christmas depression and the severe cold weather. In February we're snowed in and snowed under. No major pro- jects are possible in March be- cause it is cut in two -by the March break: April is too unpre- dictable, and besides it's income tax time. June brings the end of the school year and preparations for the summer holidays. In July and August it is clearly too hot and humid to work. In Septem- ber I just barely catch up with what I should have done long before labour day. In October the leaves have to bc raked and the barbecue put away. November is too foggy, and December is a time of contemplation, medita- tion and celebration. Which leaves me with May. What I don't achieve in May I don't get done all year. I sus- pect it's the same in your house. May is so productive. Take last November and Killed me in July. Not in May. I can just go on and on without stopping. I'm sure you experience the same phenomenon. It has noth- Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by 1.W. Eedy Publications Limited AFFoRDABLEHoUSING? NUI'INMY11AMARD! Ride defensively. any cyclist's skill is an impor- tant safety factor in preventing accidents. But, motorists must have equal responsibility in re- specting cyclists on the road. In the regard to safe biking habits, the Exeter town and OPP departments along with area schools and the Optimists clubs in Exeter and Kirkton are to be commended on their annual bike safety clinics. - Not only are young drivers tested on their riding skills at these clinics, but their bikes are also checked for safety and proper maintenance. So, this summer let's use some common sense. Ride and drive defensively and, most im- portant of all, co-operate and be courteous. Getting back to bicycle licenc- es in Exeter, beginning this year, cyclists will be able to pur- chase a permanent licence for $2 and it will last for as long as you have the same bike. Chief Larry Hardy said this week that he expects the licences to bc on sale by mid-June when all the paper work to make this legal has been completed. Exeter council has already passed their bylaw. . Pun of the Week - Nostalgia is remembering the 10 cent ham- burger. Reality is remembering how often you couldn't afford to buy one. At a recent meeting of Exeter town council, the issue of licenc- es for bicycle owners in the town was brought up and this got us thinking about a few tips on safe bike riding. Bicycling is a popular activity for many reasons. They are recre- ation, health and transportation. But, as the, good weather ap- proaches, the number of cyclists out on our roads is on the in- crease. And, so do bicycling acci- dents. In 1987, 34 cyclists were killed in Ontario and 5,903 were in- jured. Just over two thirds of the injured were over the age of 15. The Mlnistry of Transportation and Communications wants to in- crease awareness of safe cycling to adult and teenage groups who are involved in more accidents than young children. One of the steps is to introduce amendments to the Highway Traffic Act re- garding bicycles. The new legislation is designed to raise the profile of bicycles as well as clarify certain sections of the Act pertaining to bicycles. The proposed amendments, to become law early this summer, include the addition of the word bicycle in the definition of a vehi- cle. Bicycles now must have ade- quate brakes and must be walked, not ridden across pedestrian crosswalks . This certainly will apply to the new pedestrian crosswalks at the corner of Main and Victoria streets. Provision has also been made to allow the right arm extended to indicate a right tum as an al - From the ``; editor's disk by Ross Haugh temative to the currently permit- ted signal. The amendments provide ex- emption for dismounted bicy- lists to cross to the left side of the road and walk facing the traffic if the crossing cannot be made safely. And, finally, cyclists will be required to identify themselves if stopped by a police offi- cer.And, as more enthusiasts are buying bicycles, many drive in traffic with minimal cycling skills and little knowledge of proper on -road behaviour. Not surprisingly, all this adds up to more accidents since an inexperienced cyclist is far mom likely to get into an accidcnt than one who is trained. Cycling safety'should be a major concern for all cyclists, young and old alike. Clearly, Saturday, _fol-.i.lasta. WA() with the buds. Or the ._ ..r �� h,>�=:,, ; ... - • blossoms. That's all humbug. May just happens to come at the Turnin,arnateur right time. It has to do with the way our year is planned and laid out. The way it is crowded into twelve little months. I hav•e a sugges- PETER'S POINT by Peter Hesse! planted geraniums, repaired a screen door, wrote for several hours, pumped up cyerybody's bicycle tires, wrote for another hour, bicycled 10 km with the kids, painted the back porch, ran 5 km. and when 1 cam back I asked Elizabeth if there was anything she wanted me to do. , 'She got the list of her jobs for me and read off three or four of the most crucial items. I glued the torn wallpaper in Ducan's room, and I transferred the skis from the garage to the shed., In addition, 1 voluntarily carried the lawn chairs in the opposite direction. One tenth of that activity would have exhausted me in tion. y not extend M4y over a longer period? We'd all benefit. Why should our lives be gov- erned by that sterile old satellite, the moon? Maybe what the— wtii,u liC. uS Ir'the metric year, with 75% May and 25% holi- days. With such an extended May,we could probably get rid of unemployment, thenational debt, high interest rates, and who knows what else. As usual, no one in a position of power or decision-making is listening to me. Instead, we'll keep bumbling and stumbling on with our antiquated twelve- month system, a we have for thousands of years. With only one productive month. The mer- ry month of May. The lusty month of May. The only month that makes any sense -at all. The other night -I tossed aside my note pad, the one labelled "Professional reporter'snote- book", and picked up my tripod. The problem, as I see it, is the lowly status of the word "amateur" today. An "amateur" is perceived as a blundering fool, word "Professional" engraved on its side. I bolted on one of my favorite cameras, a 6x6 "Professional" model. Somebody seemed to be trying to tell me something, but I wasn't quite sure what. I grabbed for a box of film...well, you guessed it: a five -roll "Professional pack". Obviously, I was doing some- thing wrong. I had thought I was going out to take pictures just for fun. Using pro equip- ment for amateur purposes must be some kind of offense. Of course, all those "professional" labels are no more than soothing words to reassure the owner he has bought superior stuff - synonyms for "heavy- duty" or "top quality". Tole pro- fessionals ignore such labels and uses whatever it takes to get the job done. 1 - joys what he does - that's the true old that thought... by Adrian Harte meaning of the word isn't it? Amateurs take more care and time at what they do than most pros who just do it for a buck. In fact, I'm told an audiophile will sneer at a "professional" turntable because it would be no match for his own delicate, pre- cision instrument. So why do we bother with these silly labels? I mean, could you imagine an electric drill with the word "Amateur" emblazoned on its side? If you want to buy a golf ball af your local course, you walk into the "pro" shop. What does that - rally mean -anyway? -,w.,,A.. .T:;. when you watch iv, some guy with a feigned foreign accent tells you to buy his "professional" shampoo. If it was really made just for hairdressers then how can you buy it in the supermar- ket? Then again, there probably isn't much of a market for "unprofessional" shampoo. Maybe there should be a law against meaningless adjectives. If there were, of course, half the government might end up in jail. Eleanor Kaplan would be one of the first to go. I've never heard one person use so many words to say so little. She must have studied long and hard at the Bill Davis school of bafflegab. And what about that guy who brought Live Racing Pigs to the Exeter Fall Fair last year? Would anybody really pay money to watch a,grim alternative to live racing pigs?