Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-05-08, Page 4page 4 Times -Advocate, May 8, 1991 Publisher: Jim Beckett News Editor: Adrian Harte Business Manager: Don Smith Composition Manager: Deb Lord • • Second Class Mail Re stretion Number 0386 $UBSCBIPTIQN RATS- CANADA Within 40 idles (85 km.) addressed to non letter atter oddness* $30.00 pin $2.10 a.L.T. Outtsd. 40 mills (65 km.) or any letter canter address 530.00 pin 530.00 postage (total $80.00) piss 54.20 O.s.T. Outside Canada 565.00 "Men are never so likely to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely." ... Thomas Macauley Published E.ob Wsdaud.y Mesal Exsbr, Ontsrto, NOM Iii by J.W. T.MpM«n 1411.236 alt 424 Maia it., Publindoas Ltd. S.S.T. atii0.2l0a:e 0 EDITOR A.1, Budget not bad livhen you consider that the Ex- eter town budget includes a capital public works budget of over $1.5 million alone, nearly 10 times last year's, the tax increase of only five percent doesn't look that bad. Of course, nothing comes for free, so a closer glance at the budget shows that it will take until 1994 to pay off the loan on the extra $435,000 the town is borrowing so it can help match those grants the province is sending our way. The good news is that the town will get its sewers and sidewalks completed this year. The bad news is that three- year debt and the fact that a quarter of a million dollars was taken out of the sanitary sewers reserve fund to make the budget balance. Of course, as council will point out, that money would have been spent over the next three years anyway because those projects were already on the draw- ing board before the province began its anti -recession funding. The only trouble is that when PRIDE 2 is long completed and we're still paying for it, there is going to be considerable pressure on council to get the sewage treatment system capacity increased to permit further development in town. There is even the possibility that the Ministry of the Environment will not al- low an expansion of the lagoon system and will instead require a multi-million dollar treatment plant. But that's all in the future. For now, council and town staff deserve credit for putting together a budget that balances at a reasonable price. Which is more than can be said for the provincial gov- ernment. A.D.H. "I don't know if thc econennr'.c pouncing hack int• cheques certainly are." Female Companion Day Tell me: why should I get ex- cited about Moi'iili's Day? My mother, God bless her, has been gone for quite a few years, now. It's not my mother I have to worry about on and long before , Mother's Day. It's my wife. And I'm willing to bet that most hus- bands are in the same bind. A few years ago I wrote a Mother's Day column entitled "Wives' Day". In it I proposed to rename Mother's Day and call it Wives' Day, because that would be more realistic. I re- ceived a lot of support at the time, in the form of letters and phone calls. But the problem hasn't been solved yet. So in an effort to get things done, I'm go- ing to quote a few paragraphs from my old column in the hope that this time someone will take note and take action, to end this farce once and for all. Wives Day it should be called. Mother's Day they call it. What a laugh. Wives' Day would be a much more appropri- ate name. I give you a couple of examples. Although my kids re- ceive a healthy "allowance" eve- ry week, they don't save any of it for that special day in May. It's not their precious little pig- gybanks that take a beating. No. it's my VISA account that be- comes inflated. Mother's Day, indeed! So here is my proposition. Let's have Wives' Day on the first Sunday in May (and per- haps Husband's Day on the third Sunday in June). This will put things in their proper perspec- tive, and nothing but the names will have to change. I will still get up at 6 a.m. on Wives' Day and prepare an agreeable break- fast complete with poached eggs on toast, croissants with home -bought ginger marma- lade, and real filter coffee. I will still have a dozen long- stemmed roses flown .in and dropped on the lawn. I will still take everyone to `P.J.'s Restau- rant for lunch. And I will still cheerfully present Elizabeth with a moderately expensive bauble and a reasonably poetic card. But the children will have nothing to do with it. I won't have to traipse all over town Peter's Point • Peter Hessel , with three kids, "helping them" to select gifts for Mommy and pay for them because they for- got to bring their meager little purses and wallets. I won't have to juggle wrapping paper, three pairs of scissors, tape, rib- bons, cards, envelopes, pencils, crayons, erasers and white-out while the children fight over who gets to do what first. Wives' Day would be the hus- band's business. Simple. Un- complicated. No more guilt trips, no more hidden meaning. Perhaps a better name could be devised to include contempo- rary synonyms like consorts, partners, room -mates, etc. Some might prefer to call it Feminine Companion Day. End of quote. You wouldn't believe the support I got. Oddly enough, it came mostly from men. The women -- usually, more prolific letter -writers -- were strangely silent about my proposal. Now 'I'm asking you again. Will you please get off your butt and do something about it! Call your member of parliament or anyone else you know in high places! They'd love a little diversion from weightier mat- ters. They're getting bored with constitutional reform and would appreciate something they could really get their teeth into. My goal is that by 1992, Mother's Day will be moved to another spot on the calendar. It would be a time for the kiddies to be nice with Mommy, and for grownups to take flowers and chocolates to their own Moms. Husband would honour their mothers. Wives and mothers would honour their mothers. It would also be fair to mothers without husbands, because their kids would be on their own do- ing things for Mother, just like everybody else's kids. But nothing would change on that special Sunday in May we now erroneously call Mother's Day. We men would still bend over backwards to make our wives (etc.) ecstatically happy. Move them to tears. If you agree with the renaming of Mother's Day to Wives' Day, write to me (again). Write to the editor, the prime minister, Keith Spicer, anybody. Or at least, if you don't feel like writing, clap your hands in approval, smile, and admit that Peter has a point. Letters to the Editor Person's own free choice Dear Editor: Abortion is a highly debatable issue. At least once a week, you see pictures taken outside of a clinic where people harrass any- one going to or leaving from the building. "Abortion is Murder" is painted on signs and shown on people's faces. Why can't people mind their own business? Abortion should be a person's own free choice. I can understand people not ac- , . cepting those who use abor- tion as a method of birth control. But there are also many people that know its wrong but at the same time it's the only answer. These people shouldn't be harrassed, I'm sure they feel awful already. If abortion was made illegal peo- ple are going to be finding other methods to abort an unwanted child which may be very unsafe, unhealthy and very deadly. I find it offensive to force a woman, child or teenager to have a baby against their will. The problem isn't how debatable the abortion issue is.. The problem begins when people deny the rights of others to make their own choic- es. Melanie Graham Ministry of Education has a responsibility Dear Editor: What's happening in our chil- dren's education? As graduation students of the Ontario Education system we see elementary schooling changing dramaticaly from when we were there. What happened to good old, reading, writing and arithmetic? Why are some children now not able to read even after being in school nine years? Is it the fault of the par- ents, the teach- ers, the students themselves of the 11 education system as a whole? Upon whom should the blame fall for the in- creasing illiteracy rate? In our opinion the Ministry of Education has a responsibility to the clients they serve - the children of our society. What will happen to our society if children grow up not knowing how to read and write? Namely what will happen to de- mocracy. Patty Bowerman Julia Obre Hurondale 4-H club Dear Editor. On behalf of the members of the Hurondale "Explore 4-H" Club, I would like to thank you for your excellent coverage of the events of our club. The press releases submitted by our club press reporters were well marked, snaking them easy to find in the current news- paper issue. We also appreciated the attendance of your reporter at our Achieve - 11) ment Program. This response demonstrates the Times Advocate's support of youth and 4-H programs in this area. We commend your involvement. Sincerely, Beverly Prout, Co -leader, Hurondale 4-H Club. Saving, our environment Dear Editor: There are too many cars on the road. Many students that go to high school drive instead of taking the bus. 1t causes a lot of pollution that harms our environment. But many adults that work do :he same thing. They take separate cars in- stead of car pooling. "Good exam- ple for adults to set for kids". It really bothers me that there could be six poeple from the same town driving separate cars to the same place in another town. Why wouldn't they carpool? It would save them a lot of monoy and there wouldn't be as much pollution ei- ther. It is our duty to try to save our environment. When people carpool or do something else that helps the environment, they feel good about themselves. But it doesn't seem like people care enough about the environment to stop polluting it. Do you' want future generations to remember us as the people who trashed planet earth by our care- lessness? Yours sincerely, Brenda Neel) How can our country get out of debt? Dear Editor: Let's play word association, Ca- nadian government? What comes to mind? "In debt", "Ripping peo- ple off' or "Saying one thing and meaning another". They tell us they are trying to get us out of chi; recession, but then they legislate these high taxes and G.S.T., so it costs us more to live and we don't get any 11 further ahead or anything paid Too much of the money from taxes goes to paying for the government limousines, jets and their trips and housing. They spend all their time making plans and try- inf to figure out ways to get out of this recession and we just keep get- ting deeper and deeper in debt. The only way I see us getting out of debt would be to can the govern- ment. That, might be the best thing for this country. L Hope 1 HAVE AN OPINION? Don't converse In middle of road 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 et the Times Advocate Office or mailed to: Exeter Times Advocate Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 Dear Editor. I fail to acknowledge the reason why people insist on stopping in the middle of the road to talk with other people. They come to a dead stop and talk with other motorists and pedestrians while some of us are trying to get to work.. Why do people think Alexander Graham Bell invented the phone in the fust place? It wasn't for his own ben- efit that's for 111) sure. Why cart's just call on on thephone instead of tyi1 hope op motto all thetime? that commit this menace to other mo- torists heed this warning. Take Dell's advice, reach out and touch someone before someone de- cides to reach and touch you! Sincerely, Kathy Gage 4