HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-01-09, Page 41
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Times -Advocate, January 9, 1991
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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
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"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
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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
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