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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1989-11-22, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, November 22, 1989 Times Established -1871 Advocate Established 1881 'Amalgamated 1924 Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S0 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 519.235.1331 • 4►CNA ROSS HAUGH Editor HARRY DEVRIES .Composition Manager III BECKETT Publisher 8 Advertising Manager DON SMITH Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $27.00 Per year; U.S.A. $68.00„ Neighbours helping neighbours ood people get involved when bad things happen: An _ accident, a. fire, or a tragedy in a community are signals for neigh- bours to get together to see what assis- - tance is needed.. - The latest example of this was a plow- ing bee in Stanley township to help four sisters left orphans in a tragic murder - suicide. Earlier this month more than two doz- ' en men, both farmers and personnel from farm -related businesses, donated their time and their tractors to plow al- most 600 acres belonging to the Aisen- preis family. One man kept the township road scraped free of the mud left by the trac- tors. - Farmers' wives, as practical as their husbands, organized food for the glow- ers' lunch and coffee breaks. The task was the biggest' plowing bee ever tackled in' Huron. The men sur- prised even themselves by completing the job in one day. The farm community has rallied round before. They werel there in October to' do the fall plowing when Harvey Hod- gins, Crediton, lost part of his leg in a farm accident. -They were there when a Centralia area farmer, was killed in a traffic accident a few years ago. They are there, supportive and relia- ble, as soon as word gets around that a neighbour is in distress. We all hate to think of misfortune striking anyone, anywhere. However, no one is immune. If tragedy strikes, it's comforting to know we will not have to carry the burden alone. We can get by, with a little help from. our friends. The only way out Weeks ago, these pages predict- ed an election in Grand Bend was the only workable solu- tion to resolve council's difficulty in fill- ing the empty seat on council left by deputy -reeve George Kadlecik's death. Monday evening, council arrived at the same conclusion and ' took steps toward an election. The ratepayers are going to get the chance to settle a dispute council haven't had much luck with over the past four months. Council have been deadlocked over whether to appoint former councillor. Marsha Lemon or Kyle Harrison to the vacant seat. Strangely enough, now that the decision to hold an election has been made, Lemon has withdrawn her nomi- nation. One would hope, nevertheless, that at least one more person is willing to join Yvonne- Reynolds Harrison on the ballot to make the wait worthwhile. Of course, that person will have to be thick-skinned enough to want to brave the Grand Bend council chamber. The village's council has become notorious in the past few months, not only.for their heated discussions over political issues, but also for their personality conflicts and ability to deadlock even the simplest motions. Committee reports have been present- ed to council more with the aim of dis- crediting fellow councillors than detail- ing any kind of progress. Let us hope the decision to hold an election in Grand Bend heralds a new era of detente for council. .If not, Heav- en help whoever wine the election. By Adrian Harte Letters to the Editor Exeter has. peaceful Hallowe'en Dear Sir. While Hallowe'en in many communities is plagued with -large amounts of property damage and tainted candy, we in Exeter should be proud of the fact that Hallowe'en for our children is sell a fun -filled night for the kids to trick or treat door to door and collect candy. ' The credit for this must go to the youth in the com- munity. The children arrive home with their bags of candy to feast on instead of going to the police sta- tion to have the candy checked to see if it alright to eat. If anyone has taken the time to notice, not one win- dow was soaped on Main Street and no building, were defaced. All too often it is easier to condemn instead of giv- ing credit. In society we often judge the majority by the actions of the minority. - While I know that we will continue to face the ( ty- to-day problems that involve some of the 'oaths from Exeter and ctirrounding arca, I think the" time has come to give credit were credit to due. I believe that it says a lot for the youth that live in Exeter and from the surrounding area when one can look back on the events and take note that it was a peaceful night with not one related call made to the Town Police Force. It tells me that the youths are re- sponsible citizens who have not lost sight of what Hallowe'en is all about. Furthermore, they have not tried to use the night as an excuse to damage property and. harass the younger kids, as there can be no ex- cuse to this type of irresponsible action. The calibre of youth we have in this area speaks well of the community in which we live. I for one would like to express a sincere thanks to them for the very mature way they have handled themselves. Larry D. Hardy Chief of Police Town of Exeter Adult vrivrnteer needed The Exeter Lions Youth Centra pleased to report a substantial al ' for our Youth Centre. The time h to ask for some adult help. Along with Jenny Rowe, we t,r rad. '11y setting up some programs for youtht " V C of pose orga- nized through the Scouis/Guiu... programs. To keep the public- informed of those events, we will try to make an ad available r 'ir paper each week in which we will outline vat too . ,'ting events. One of the rules of ,n,1 .1 ... the Exeter Lions Youth Centre is that U - • v, " he an adult in the building at all times when youth are there. This rule is easily followed by the Scouts/Guide groups as the leaders are there anywhere. For the social/ recreational program, the Lions Club needs to have a list of people who could volunteer a few 'hours now and again to be that adult. This adult docs not have to be a Scout leader or a coach or an activity director. Rather, we need adults rano . is usage however, who are positive about kids and who are prepared to support them by just being there. As an aside, if any adults have a interest in setting up a particular program for youth, we would like to hear from .them as well. It could be set up around a recreation - eg. backgammon club or bridge club, or around a particular sport, or folk-rock band or what- ever. , Please call u:> for details, or call us and say you'll give it a try. We're sure you'll be as excited as we are about the potential which the Youth Centre presents. Let's all help the kids to help themselves through le- gitimate social and recreational activities: Who to call: Gary Bean 235-2311 Jenny Rowe 237-3435' George Godbolt 235-2740 The support of the Times -Advocate is appreciated. George Godbolt Youth Centre Committee Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by I.W. Eedy Publications Limited Psst! Wnna buy my atom car? Someone actually asked me the other day if I liked driving a Maserati. This apparently wasn't the only person who thought I drove an Italian auto- mobile. Let me set the record straight. I not only don't know what driv ing a Maserati is like, I don't know what it would be like to be able to afford one. ' I'll grant my car does look a little odd when parked next to your fathers Oldsmobile, but it's a far cry from a Maserati. I'I1 only drive a Maserati in my dreams, but while I'm dreaming, how about all those cars I should be driving. A prime example is the atom car that was predicted by a "sci- entist" in 1951 to take over our roads within 25 years or so. This car would be powered by clean, safe atomic energy and would go years between refills. Of course, the ; om car never arrived; likely be ausc someone realized the true potential of a head-on fender bender...critical mass...and wham!...Exeter dis- appears in a mushroom cloud. What kind of insurance would I need on a car like that? The "scientists" never gave up though. Magazines like Popular Mechanics and Motor Trend were always looking ahead to the future world of the 1970s or 80s. One favorite theme was a fly- ing car. Most quickly converted into aircraft or helicopters, al- though no-one seemed to know why we would need such a thing or where we would be allowed to take off or land one. Hover cars were also going to be a hit at every dealer by the Hold that thought... By Adrian Harte mid 70s. Turbines would gener- ate cushions of air to lift a wheel -less car off the ground and float it anywhere at high speed. Again, no-one was willing to speculate about what kind of noise such a vehicle would make. I can imagine every high- way and street sounding like an air base. What if two hover cars collid- ed? Have you ever played air hockey? True visionaries of the 50s • knew amphibious automobiles were just around the comer. This could be useful when Grand Bend's Main Street is gridlocked. Those trapped in the beach parking lot could sim- ply drive into the lake. Other- wise who would be caught dead in a genuine land yacht? The main theme 'of the future, however, would be speed. Fu- ture people of the 1980s would not be satisfied with a mere 100 kilometres per hour. We would all be cruising along at about 250 km/h, naturally. Turbine engines would provide the smooth power we would all crave. I don't mean to ridicule the wild optimism of the 1950s, only to highlight the difference between that decade and our own. Only North America was wealthy enough to indulge in fantasies about a bountiful fu- ture. The rest of the world was still digging out from the war. Americans were building huge cars with fins and chrome. Eu- rope was struggling to build a car people could afford. While the complaint that life is getting faster all the time, some have observed the opposite is of- ten true. We never got our high- speed highways after all. In fact, the average speed of traffic in Los Angeles today is claimed to be only 2 miles per hour. • The real cars in our future are likely to be smaller, and much more fuel-efficent than today's. In fact, the U.S. government is considering legislation to make the average fuel economy of the American car 75 miles per gal- lon within a few years. That won't allow much room for horsepower or speed. So where does that leave us? Certainly not outside polishing our atom cars. Breakfast in bed At 6:30 from Monday to Fri- day, five clock radios come on simultaneously at -our house, all tuned to a different station. Even with that noise, our three tired kids have to be physically dragged out of bed, shaken by the shoulders, shock -treated with frigid or steaming -hot wa- ter, and told that an earthquake has just destroyed their school, before they open even one eye. On Saturdays and Sundays, Elizabeth and ' I theoretically could sleep a bit. longer. Till 7 maybe, or even till 8. Why not? I'll tell you why not. Because on weekends, our sweet Children wake up at 6 a.m. all by them- selves, without radio, without shock therapy. They assemble in the hall, as brighteyed as on Christmas rooming, . and plan how to wake up their parents this time. Last Sunday, again, . it was. with breakfast in bed. They used to ask us first, but because of our frequent negative response, they have learned to act inde- pendently. Alexander pioneeredthe way with two tea tables, one 'at each side of the bed. And then, while Elizabeth and I pretended to sleep, he helped Stephanie and Duncan bring up another table, the toaster oven, the electric ket- tle, the coffee makers, plates and bowls, mugs, cutlery, ser- viettes, coffee, tea bags, loaves of white and brown bread, milk oranges, assorted jams and mar- malades., honey, four different ' cereals, and one of the potted 'geraniums I am trying to nurse through the winter. All of these foods, utensils, and decorations were placed on tables, night tables, dressers, chairs, and on the floor. As we tried to decide at which point we should officially wake up (when the water was boiling or when the first toast popped up), . the kids shouted: "Sur- prise!" - - We dutifully rubbed our eyes and said: "Oh, how wonderful, breakfast in bed." By 6:15 the coffee could have been ready, had the kids used filter coffee instead of instant. "What's the difference?" Alex- ander asked a little annoyed, "coffee is coffee, isn't it?" "We usually filter the filter coffee and just pour hot water over the instant coffee," Eliza- beth explained patiently. "How many teaspoons of in- stant coffee did you put into the coffee maker?" I inquired. "I don't know, maybe six of seven," Alexander shrugged. "More like maybe ten or twelve", corrected Stephanie, "and I told him to take the other coffee, but he wouldn't listen to me". "Yah, she always butts in. I'm the one that had'thc idea". "Alexander, thanks a lot for having the idea. It doesn't matter about the coffee. I feel like hav- Please turn to page 11