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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1989-09-06, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, September 6, 1989 Times Established 1871 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 a ai BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 fit JI 141111301 AWA140 1989 Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 150 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone S19-235-1331 ROSS HAUGH Editor ;lig. eNA JIM BECKETT Publisher 8 Advertising Manager HARRY DEVRIES DON SMITH C&mposilion Manager Business Manager 4 -1 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $27.00 Per year; U.S.A. $68.00 Know an outstanding young person? • he seareh is on for courageous and resourceful young people in this area who are deserving of recognition as Ontario Junior Citizens of the Year. And we need your help. If you are aware of anyone between the ages of 6' and 18 who may be eligible, please let us know. Nomination forms are available at the Times -Advocate of- fice. Nominating a _deserving young person for the award is a chance to recognize youthful achievement and selfless service - to a family member, to a classmate or to the community. It's a chance as well to reward a young person who has over- come a physical handicap with grace, dignity and courage. We are seeking young people who have made a measurable difference in their community through an act of bravery, an act of courage beyond what the average young person faces in daily life., The annual awards are jointly spon- sored by the program's. patron, Canadian Airlines International, and by the Onta- rio Community Newspapers Association and are handed out each year by Onta- rio's'Lieutenant Governor at the associa- tion's annual convention in Toronto. Al- though the convention is not held until February, it is essential. - if you have a candidate in mind - to get in touch with the T -A as soon as possible so that the re- quired documentation can be gathered well in advance. Nominees must be residents of Ontario who have performed single or continu- ing acts of courage or who .have shown ingepuity, resourcefulness, fortitude or selfless service. From all of the nomina- tions submitted, a panel of judges will se- lect approximately 12 young people (and a group of young people who work as team or club) to receive the Ontario Jun- ior Citizen awards. Each will be intro- duced to Lt. Gov. Lincoln Alexander and receive a plaque citing the reason for his or her recognition. As well, he or she will be presented with a cheque for $200 'and have a family portrait taken with the Lieutenant Governor. If you know of a deserving young per- son who fits the bill, please get in touch withT-A editor Ross Haugh (235-1331) or ask for a nomination form at the newspaper office. We appreciate your help. Should be safer xeter council and councillor Dave Urlin in particular are to be commended for their ef- forts in attempting to make the town's only official pedestrian crosswalk a bit safer for everyone concerned. After getting no assistance whatsoever from provincial transportation officials, council took it upon themselves to try and make the crosswalk lights at the cor- ner of Main and Victoria streets more visible to motorists. Urlin has been bringing the subject up at each meeting of council and has been diligent throughout the summer in checking out similar flashing crosswalks in other communities. He has continually maintained that the local crossing signals are too high to be noticed by motorists and more lights should be added. Quick action this week by works super- intendent Glenn Kells and his staff have ' -d.one flashing light to each side of the crosswalk and new warning signs have been painted on the pavement. A Ministry of Transportation official visited Exeter recently and according to his letter, observed the crosswalk for some time and no person used the crosso- ver". That may be so, but it's the same story as in past surveys for traffic counts done here and in Lucan: They were carried out at times throughout the day when the streets were quiet. As motorists are required to come to a, complete stop when these crosswalk lights are flashing, it may improve mat- ters to change the colour to red. Red is the universal colour for stopping and is adhered to by all motorists any- where in the world whereas. yellow is usually associated with caution. Pedestrians can also help in alleviating danger at this intersection by crossing Main street at the prescribed spot and not a few feet north or south of the corner. The changes made this week should help in making this corner a Infer spot to cross for the many students going back to school this week. My wish list There is nothing we can do about death, taxes and birthdays, except to grin and be'hr them. Last month, my 29th birthday came around ��af� air),_ up►!#�*� foe thcs;:, wIm- rhalN „' ! !n c_.,..... 1 , • alit! a LV/- culator ready, i was 21,195 _days old; including the leap -days. Well over half a million hours. But for my kids, anything 'is a reason to celebrate. So why hot the -old , s>+a��d.p}►� Q[p�g(�hSaca4C.... preparations. But a couple of days before the event, they wanicd to know: "Daddy what do you want for ycvr birthday?" "A kiss and a hug, a friendly smile, and no fighting all day." "No, come on, be serious." "Alright, make me some nice home-made cards, with lots of pic- tures." "That's for little kids. We'll soon be going to the Mall with Mom, and we want to buy you something you need." i promised to let them have a wish list that evening. All year long, I deny myself things I urgently need and want. I sec them in stores, in ads, in cata- logues. "No", 1 say to myself, "i • mustn't splurge. I can't afford it. There arc other priorities. Like pay- ing the mortgage." And all these • PETER'S POINT • Peter Hessel 1 nicelittt 1hi Ye tflat would make life more enjoyable have to wait, usually forever. Here was my opportunity to get some of them, via my kids, who more or less get financed by Eliza- beth. And I couldn't think of any. Not a blessed one. I sat there with a blank piece of paper marked "my birthday wish list". Blank. Not a single idea crossed my mind. In the evening Alexander demand- ed to know: "Did you write the list yet?" "What list?" "The list of things you want for By Ross Haugl, your birthday, the one you prom- ised." "Tomorrow. I'II have it tomor- row." -•-rr<i. t c IEs on ' desk all day. I spent a lot of time thinking ihniii it. The kid had,anrnhIr•m What to give Ire that wouldn't cost more than two or three weeks of their allowance. They were gong to the Mali. What is there at the Mall..that I really want - and that they (wa f 44 went from merchant to merchant. Bad news for 'all of them: your stores are--filled-to therafters_with. stuff I find extremely useless. Now if there were a decent bookstore in town.... Anyway, I came up with a list of six items, two for each child. And I am happy to report that all of them were purchased, elaborate- ly wrapped, carefully hidden for a couple of days, and finally present- ed with lots of love and shining eyes (the kids even did most of the unwrapping for me). I am now the proud owner of a soap dish and drinking cup for my office washroom, a new tooth - Please turn to page 5 Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publicationslimited "We must be getting close to the lake — my feet feel wet." Lots of tax talk The main topic of discussion these past couple of weeks seems to centre on the federal govern- ment's proposed goods and ser- vices tax. It seems ironical that in last week's issue of this newspaper at the same time as an editorial and an on -the -street interview op- posed the new tax, the govern- ment chose to place a full two page ad in support of the pro- posed legislation. We couldn't give a very accu- rate guess at how much this ad- vertising which appears in every newspaper in Canada will cost. But, it could be as high as $1 million. Tax on books and magazines may not sound very damaging, but it could have very wide reaching effects. A quick calculation along with our better half reveals that our household spends at least $50 per month in reading materials. This includes the Toronto Star about four times a week, two or three out-of-town papers, craft and quilt magazines, mystery maga- zines, a variety of sports books and magazines, puzzle books and of course joke books. With the new tax in place it will mean our reading materials will in 1991 cost an extra $54. Probably the largest impact will be the reduction of the . buying power of schools and libraries. The demand on public libraries From the 'editor's disk by rim Ross Haugh to provide a wide variety of read- ing materials will certainly in- crease with the average citizen able to buy less with the same amount of money. We would guess that their bud- gets already stretched to the lim- it, could not provide the in- creased level of service which would be demanded of them as consumer purchases at book- stores and news stands decline. A recent poll of 2,000 Canadi- ans by the Don't Tax Coalition reveals that 1,660 were opposed to the new tax for reading materi- als. Experts in the book and maga- zinepublishing marketing fields predict that the increase from zero to nine percent would reduce sales and put many publishers and booksellers at risk. Furthermore, taxation .of read- ing matter is contrary to the Ca- nadian government's policy of encouraging a distinctive Canadi- an culture , and conflicts with its commitment to promote literacy. Finally, the Coalition strongly believes that tax-free reading is a matter of principle. Reading is a cornerstone of modern econo- mies and democracies. The same cross country poll re- vealed some other interesting facts. They include that 67 per- cent of Canadians have read a book in the last six weeks, 61 percent of Canadians buy or sub- scribe to magazines on a regular basis and 35 percent of this num- ber buy or subscribe to more than three. Many of those polled predicted an overall downturn in book and magazine purchases as a result of the new tax, and close to one- third believe there would be a downturn in reading, as well. Thought of the Week: Reality is only for those people who lack imagination. My driving career I often hear references to North Americans' love affair with the cars. I must be in the wrong gear - my relationship with mo- torized vehicles is more like a wary truce. I did not get my driver's licence until I was in my twenties. My father let me get bchind the wheel of his delivery truck once. I promptly ran the rig off the side - road and into a grassy field. Thus ended the first - and only - lesson from that source. My next lessons in the art of driving camc from the man to whom I had recently said "I do." Here T l -.'u -n 1 more fthnnt hue_ bandsthan I did about driving. Lesson number one: A trip to the altar seems to work a Jbro- found change in a man. He will say things to his wife that he would never dream of saying to his fiancee, his parents, his bud- dies or the clerk at Canadian Tire. So what if I blew the head gas- - ketT-4arring-and-sroppring-orni • hill is a tricky manoeuvre! The same goes for bouncing through a pothole. How was i to know the brakes on our old Ford didn't even catch until the pedal was de- pressed half -way! Totally depressed was•the way I felt after our driving- a r, »- Each ended with me ensconced behind a slammed bedroom door. The menu for those evenings was usually cold shoulder. Faced with the option of ending the lessons or ending our marri- age, we chose the former. H6wevcr, I was still deter- mined to qualify to legally get be- hind the wheel. I had my begin- ner's permit. My husband was away with his squadron, and due back soon. Why nbt go out by myself, on a back road bchind the Greenwood, Nova Scotia air base, and practice driving. Then I could surprise Don by taking the family car over to the hangar, to greet him on his arrival back at home base. The fact that I was almost nine Reynold's Rap by Yvonne Reynolds Spnnthv nrecm.9nt vol' irrelevant and immaterial. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I squeezed behind the wheel, put the car in first on the third attempt, let out the clutch with a jerk and a roar, and away I went. I proceeded about 10 miles down the road, enjoying the feet- ing of power and .accomplish Lieut ttr'ttep EIg i1i. 4i iwuurlg, and on the road. Spotting a nar- row bridge ahead, 1 decided not t0 press 1 ne time naiy come to turn around and head back. I tumcd left onto a sloping little path. All my efforts were con- ectdr t:,Pterrvit skevvip - incline and onto the road. I com- pletely forgot that I must also tum the rear wheels. I pressed down hard on the accelerator. The car shot across the road, and came to an abrupt stop. I got out to look. My front wheels were on the road. The middle of the car was scrunched flat on the grass at the edge. The rear wheels were dangling in midair over a ditch. 1 needed help. Spotting a house nearby, i trudged up to the; front door. A young man re- sponded to my knock. I dangled my car keys in his facc and said "Docs anybody here drive?" By the time we got back to the scene of the crime, a goodly crowd had gathered. People out for a Sunday drive had spotted . my car in its ludicrous position, and stopped to see what kind of idiot had put it there. My dishevelled appearance, red face and pregnant state must have stirred their compassion. They offered to help. One man had a powerful truck. Another had a chain. The rest climbed down into the ditch in their Sunday Cliit5. The truck strained. The men jifted. The gravel flew. There was a final lunge, and my car was back on the road. The Good Samaritans climbed out of the ditch, and brushed off the dirt and dust. They took up positions at the side of the road. Their wives movrdclo .:__ _.r car windows. All eyes were on. me. Everyone wanted to a close-uplook at this driver in ac- tion. 1 had to disappoint them. i did not dare oblige. "Gentlemen," I began. "Thank you all very much. I really ap- . - F`mg.--yottr help.. 13th now, will you please driye on? 1 need the whole road." What they had already seem must have convinced them. They drove off. I squeezed back info- the ntothe 'driver's scat, gripped the wheel until my knuckles were white, and slowly and carefully he ded for home. i�was not on the tarmac to greet my, husband when the Lancasters of �t05 Squadron landed. urther adventures in my next col mn, if I'm not arrested be- fo then.)