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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-01-09, Page 41 i Page 4 Times -Advocate, January 9, 1991 t Publisher: Jim Beckett News Editor Adrian Harte Business Manager: Don Smith Composition Manager: Deb Lord Published Eaob Wednesday Morning at 424 Male as., . Exeter, Ontario, NOM 160 byJ.W. E yr Publbatloia Ltd. Telephone 1-1.12-235-1331 S.eond Class Mall RegNtratba Number 0988 UBSCRIPTION RATES; Canada: $27.00 plus $1.89 G.S.T. Per ysar, U.S.A. $68.00 plus $4.76 G.S.T. GALT. .R1Otra as • • "Men are never sQ_fikely --- •, `to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely." - ... Thomas Macauley 1;1)I'I'OR1 ALS Now who pays In some ways it seemed like a bad idea. Why should proper- ty owners (and apartment ten- ants) be paying for sewage surcharges on their PUC bilis, when sewers wouldn't be found under their streets for another three years? How unfair could council be? And yet it seemed a good idea. If council were having to hike the sewage charge to 120 percent of the monthly water rate to cover the cost of a new sewage project, why should those homeowners the project benefits be let off scott-free while everyone else pays the higher rate for the next three years. Surely they should contribute their fair share to this project and join right in with the $13.20 monthly rate for the next few years. This would be a small, insignificant price to pay for being able to eventually cast off the burden of their septic tanks andjoin the 20th cen- tury with sanitary sewers. Obviously, we have a problem. Somewhere between these two points of view is the misconception that the muncipality automatically extends sew- ers to everyone's doorstep. That may have been true many decades ago, but todak the cost of developing new sew- age •fines is usually borne by the devel- oper and is included in the price of the lot. So who pays when a lot has to be added to a brand new sewage lite - like the southwest corner of town -Will get in 1993? Fair enough, those property owners have won their case with council for not wanting to pay sewage charges until the goods are delivered, but everyone else in town is going to take a look at their Jan- uary utility bill and know where that ex- tra money is going - the far side of the tracks. One must assume that after Exeter's surcharged homeowners (and apartment dwellers) have been paying the inflated rate for three years, the property owners in the PRIDE area will offer more than just a quiet "thank -you" for their new gift. Council now has the unenviable task of deciding how, or if, to extract due compensation from those southwest property owners, in lieu of the seeming- ly innocuous sewage surcharge. Can it be done? Stay tuned. A.D.H. PLEASE. 5TAND N- CR. NETWORK 11061EM5 ARE TEMPORARY HONK PROGRAMMING w' _l. RESUME A-5 SOON 115 MUL ONE' 15. TURFED Oat OE UFfiCE.,. • Desert desertion? overnment propaganda an important part of any war - witness the second World War and Adolf Hitler's tirades against hu- manity or the United States' involve- ment in the Viet Nam "conflict" for ex- amples. According to recent news reports, six Iraqi soldiers have jumped ship, so to speak, and fled to Saudi Arabia into the comforting arms of the Western World's allies. Are Canadians supposed to believe that Iraqi soldiers (renown for their fearlessness and rigid beliefs in the af- ter -life) defected? If safety was their motive then they must not have heard of the infamous author Salman Rushdie who only had to write a novel Satanic Verses vaguely hinting at the potential perils of the Is- lairnic religion to be marked for death. The Middle Eastern world's religion and government withstanding, ' why would the soldiers flee (in the name of freedom) to the Americans - wasn't there a possibility of being shot down? And, with US security the way it is - why did the Iraqis desertion story leak as quickly as it did? Shouldn't they have been questioned first for "top secret" reasons? Wouldn't announcing their de- sertion bring them certain death? It seems, the news report's validity is about aS likely as the one which stated a dozen Iraqis in Toronto (100 across North America) would bring considera- ble destruction to several metropolitan centres if a Persian Gulf War were to break out. Note: The FBI agent who supposedly leaked the story is now said not to exist. c.c. Time to play M_ any of us recall how fun it was playing a musical instru- ment in the high school band. Most of us also realize we haven't picked up a clarinet, trumpet, or saxo- phone in the years since. Now comes the chance for a few of us to relive those musical moments by joining the as -yet -unnamed band being set up by Ken Hermann and Bob D5in- ney. Both of these men are enthusiastic about how the Legioji-sponsored pro- gram will take off once enough mem- bers can be found to get it up and run- ning. sigh school teacher Rob Robilliard has agreed to conduct the band and is even . -prepared Jo instruct those who All on tape I was determined to keep my New Year's resolution to take better advantage of winter and spend more time cross-country skiing. So on Sunday afternoon I headed out to Morison Dam to circumnavigate the reservoir. As usual, I wasn't able to con- vince any friends to join me. They claim they were busy do- ing other more ,important things, but I have considered. they. may not think it too safe to be altiund me when I've got long sticks with sharp pointy ends in my hands. Nevertheless, convinced I should make the best of the situ- ation. I went searching for my Walkman (I can call It that. It is made by Sony. I haven't violat- ed any trademarks). It took me a while to.find it and dust it off. I don't seem to use it as much these days, although I can still remember when I didn't tio any- where without it. Actually, when I opened it to drop some batteries . into it, a part of the cassette door crum- bled away. Not cracked, it just broke from being old and brittle. haven't even played before. It would ap- pear that even those whose talents aspire no higher than to hit something with a regular beat will be welcomed with open arms at the groups first meeting in Feb- ruary. If you've' often promised yourself to dust off that trombone or trumpet, or to refresh yourself on your flute fingerings, this may be the perfect opportunity. The best part, though; will be at parade time. While the bands we hire to per- form in local parades -have served us well over the years, it would be nice to have some home -town talent represent us musically on our own streets. A.D.B.. b HAVE AN OPINION.? The Times Advocate welcomes letters to the editor. They must be signed and should be accompanied by a telephone number and address should we need to clarify any information. The newspaper also reserves the right to edit letters. Letters can be dropped off at the Times Advocate Office or mailed to: Exeter Times Advocate Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM ISO Alex will be 12 next month, a very transitional age. He claims he is too old to enjoy the simple fun of a snowball fight and too young' to do his fair share of reg- ular snow shovelling. Stephanie will fool around in the snow for a while and then come in, saying that she needs some hot chocolate or feels like playing a computer game or two. Duncan, on the other hand, is our snow boy. He loves the white stuff and can't get enough of 11 He is the raw material arctic explorers are made of tough and perseverittg, and seemingly insensitive to cold: Every year, while the rest of the family still enjoys the golden fall, Duncan 'dreams of snow. On a nippy September moming, when he finds a little frost on the windshield, he'll root through the attic, looking for his snow boots. As soon as it's time to put the garden hose and the lawn chairs away, he'll collect and,neatly ar- riMge everybody's skis, poles. toboggans and sleighs in the ga- rage. When he goes to the hardware store with us, he goes straight to the snow shovel display. "Dad, we need to get ready for the snow." "Later, Duncan, much Merl" Now wait a minute, I thought to myself. This isn't a museum piece. It's a Sony Walkman. How can it possibly be suffering from old age? And yet it was true. What was Hol that thou ht.,, By Adrian arte once the latest marvel of the consumer society was now showing its age. So was I. I remember buying one of the first generation of portable stere- os. It was a Panasonic, it cost a fortune, and it came with a belt - looped case because it was too big for any pocket. The first model Walkman was on the market at the same time, yet it has occurred to me that no stu- dent in high school today would likely remember those first port- ables. As far as they're con- cerned, they've been around for - Snow fort "What month is it, Dad?" "It's only October. It probably won't snow till .Christmas, I hope."- "Look, ope.""Look, Dad, these are the kinds of things we should buy: a PETpt' S POINT • by Peter Hessel couple of pushers, a couple of light plastic shovels, an ice pick, and a spade." "Spades are fortiigging flower beds." . "And for snow{ortsl" "Duncan, we already have a spade." "'a, and you hog it all the time, and lhave touse anordi- nary shovel. One spade just isn't enottghf So I buy yet another piece of equipment. The first 2 -cm snowfall drives jgpn out of his mind. Going to 6001, he gets dressed for Baf- fin Island, with only his eyes visible behind his enormous scarf. I guess he practices hi the school 9ard. As soon as he copies home, he scoops up all the now fiord crowd the house t1 ever. Fortunately, the Walkman still worked, in both directions. I weighed my options for an ap- propriate tape for my to ski trip, mindful that the c ' ice of music would predict exactly what kind of exercise I h d. Cross-country skiing lies on an even rhythm to be ost effi- cient, so a self;contain rhythm section brought along willnatu- rally set the pace. If I wanted a gentle glide around the reservoir, with time to appreciate the scenery, a Mo- zart sonata would come highly recommended. If a vigorous workout was more of what I had in mind, I suppose something like Duran Duran's dance hits might hit the spot. If one really wanted to offend Mother Nature, rap music might be the order of the day, now that punk rock is obsolete I guess. In the end, 1 exercised the Ca- nadian content option and picked out a tape by the Nylons. It made my day, proving that it is possible to make a social ac- tivity antisocial and still enjoy it. and loads it into a big pile, ready for his first snow fort of the season. When it melts, he is heart -broken. Finally the real snow arrives. As soon as he gets up, he lis- tens to the local radio station, hoping for a school cancella- tion. It's not that he dislikes school. He just believes that playing in the snow is a lot bet- ter. His idea of paradise would be a blizzard that blows for an entire week. • When I come home, Elizabeth usually says: "Try and find Duncan and ask him to come in • for supper." Easier said than done. He might have three or four snow forts on the go at any given time. So I button up my parka hood and tackle the elements. - Wind chill factor: minus 30.. Fort number one is close to the garage. I -fihd the entrance - al- ways hidden behind a snow boulder - and yell. No Duncan. I try fort number two, on and under the deck. Duncan doesn't answer. Which means either he isn't there or he doesn't feel like coming for supper. I'm having a hard time finding fort number three because the driving snow is obliterating everything. Irk,* white-out. I feel like Tuktulak set adrift on an Please turn to page S A