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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1992-03-04, Page 4Page 4 Turns -Advocate, March 4, 1992 Publisher: Jim Beckett News Editor: Adnan Harte 51,111111011111 Manager: Don Smith Composition Manager: Deb Lord GC... Publications Mail Registration Number 0386 SURsr.RIPTIoNLUES Cagan YAW 40 miss (45 bn.) add ssss4 to non latter snits sidr.aass $30.00 plus $2.10 03.T. Outside 40 miles (45 kin.) or say tatty omits address 630.00 plus $40.00 postage (total $40.00) piss $4.20 $.$.T. Outside Canada $48.00 I:1)iI\i nion 0 0 _5"/A1ChAt.(15;c,' P1' Is two hours not enough? Iis an age old problem. Do you allow free parking on the streets to encourage visits to the town's retail area? Or do you place parking restrictions on those spaces to make sure no one abuses the privilege of often parking: _ As a-reaoit of 'a resident's complaint, Exeter council are considering -a review of their parking policy.- Is two hours a - long enough time frame to allow shop- pers to browse Main Street, or is it too confining? - On the other hand, there are town's of Exeter's size with parking meters on the street, but then again, they have to be patrolled and checked in order to be ef- fective. Exeter's problem is that parking en- forcement is too sporadic. Most people know that they can exceed the two-hour parking limit by a good margin 29 days out of 30, or so it seems. Even business owners who ought to know better can be seen leaving their vehicles blocking the space in from of their front doors, taking away the most convenient parking spot for an arriving customer. On -street patios*g Can be vitalfor aa --business area. One needs only to cite the example of London's Dundas East, which convinced themselves they need- ed to do away with street parking in fa- vour of a brick "boulevard". The area died almost overnight. So the point of the Exeter shopper is valid, should parking restrictions be lift- ed to avoid discouraging shoppers and visitors with parking tickets? Or must there be more consistent police enforce- ment of the current, restrictions to dis- courage abuse of the system. Council is going to have to tread very lightly with this one. A.D.H. r Quiet evening in a Canadian home I just came across a fine car- toon by C.W. Jefferys entitled "A Quiet Evening in a Canadian Home". The artist shows a large Canadian family sitting in their spacious living npoin, reading newpapers and magazines. What are they? The New York Sunday Times, Harper's Bazaar, Ladies' Home Journal, and other prod- ucts of American minds. Hang- ing on the wall are the portraits of an austere -looking King Ed- ward VIII and his gracious Queen Alexandra. Both pictures are ornately framed and draped in the Union Jack. The year was 1901, a period when Canada was policitically dominated by Britain and culturally by the USA. I smiled as I looked around our own living room. Boy, have we come a long way, I thought proudly. Hanging over our man- tle are the portraits of a smiling Queen Elizabeth II and a benev- olent Prince Phillip. Both pic- tures are framed in high tech state-of-the-art plastic and draped in our beloved crimson and white Maple Leaf flag. I put aside the book with the silly old cartoon and started to read by modem, solidly Canadi- an daily newspaper. It brings me up to date on everything. Our country and the world around us are changing rapidly. Gone is the colonialism of yesteryear. As a fully independent state, Canada has its own journalistic elite. For example, I learned all the latest news about the former So- viet Union from a first-class re- porter employed by the Chicago Tribune. Other in-depth analysis in this major Canadian newapa- per was provided via journalists from the Baltimore Sun, Knight- Ridder,,Reuters, the News York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Christian Science Monitor in Boston, and of course the Wash- ington Post. Peter's Point • Peter Hessen Now that I had gotten all the education I wanted, it was time to do a little learning. I felt the urge to read about the deeper is- sues and challenges we are fac- ing as the end of this century ap- proaches. w the paper on the floor and - for a more analyt- ical view, for in-depth back- ground - tumed to the latest magazines that had found their way into the house within the last week or two. I reached for the National Geographic from Washington and then for The At- lantic from Boston. As I looked around the room, I found Eliza- beth browsing through Vogue (from New York). Alexander was reading Sports Illustrated (from Rockefeller Center, New York City), and Stephanie (al- though she is only 10, bless her heart) was leafing through an is- sue of Seventeen, also published in New York. Only Duncan was resisting the lure of American journalism. He had been quietly playing with the Gameboy I got for him dur- ing my latest cross-border shop- ping trip. Now he asked: "Can I Letter to Editor turn the TV on?" I consulted with the others. Yes, we all agreed that is was time for some comic relief. • "You may tura the TV.on,`ct3q said. There is nothing wrong with a little Prime Time enter- tainment, is there? So we all put our feet up, relaxed and enjoyed the latest repeat of a familiar sit- com playing in and produced in Manhattan. During the commercial breaks, we listened attentively to the brilliant marketing schemes for US products, which thanks to the Free Trade Agreement are now more readily available in Canada than before. Elizabeth went into the kitchen and came back to serve us a few Ritz crackers and Kraft cheese to munch on. "Isn't it marvellous," I thought, "How times have changed since that old-fashioned cartoon appeared?" Our newspa- pers are thicker and much better illustrated. Our magazines are glitzier, glossier and more col- ourful. Radio and TV have add- ed a glorious dimension un- known to our grandparents. How fortunate we are! How awful it must have been back in the dark_ ages, in 19$)J, when Canada was on the one hand not yet liberated from the clutches of the British Empire, on the other hand dominated by US cultural imperialism. Yes, we've come a long way. We're true and palfllotic Canadi- ans. We wave our own flag, sing our own anthem, and change our own constitutuion. "What about our minds?" you ask. Dont be so picky! Who cares if our minds are not our own? Nobody is perfect. "Men are never so likely to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely." ... Thomas Macauley P'Mtsksd Erna Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St., Ez•t•t, Oatarl•, MSM 111 by 1.W. E•dy hNlc•ttons Ltd. T•1•pk•n• 14192341331 4.s.7. srtiosziosa Politics for breakfast Last Wednesday, my puppy ate two potted African violets. Thursday morning, she dug up a larger floorstanding plant. With that in mind I bundled her into the car, dropped her off at my parents and joined the Toronto- . bahn.ai London.to1get away for a few,days at the atxivai9titani0 Community Newspapers Associ- ation Convention. While there were plenty of in- teresting people to meet, semi- nars aimed at uplifting our sense of purpose in the weekly paper business and to spur us on to new heights, a'couple of awards to humbly collect, one of the main attractions for me was the chance to kick off both main days with powerful guest speak- ers. Fridays breakfast vilest was none other than - Lanier Bob Rae, the guy who has experi- enced much bashing in the col- lective pages of the province's papers, and little praise to bal- ance it. Saturday morning, just in from Ottawa's cliffhanger over the Constitutional debate, was Joe Clark. What politics for breakfast again? This coffee is bad enough already. But honestly enough, any I spoke to agreed that both were speakers of the finest calibre, even if you didn't gree with 'Class Al drama at Blyth Many theatre lovers missed a golden opportunity to sec some 'Class A' drama and comedy at the Blyth Theatre on February 20-22. For the seventh year. the Blyth Festival sponsored a drama festi- val which drew 200 students from ten high schools to perform one- - act plays and attend .workshops conducted by professionals. lite results were three evenings of highly entertaining theatre and talented acting --- all for only S8.00. You could hear a pin 111) drop during each drama presenta- tion. But the F.E. Madill production of Johnny Canuck had everyone rolling in the aisles. For me it was an oasis of warm enjoyment in the midst of a Tong winter of snow and ice (even though I did get storm -stayed in Blyth on the first night). My congratulations and sincere thanks to the drama clubs, stu- dents, teachers and parents at - South Huron S.S. (Exeter) - Central Huron S.S. (Clinton) - Listowel District S.S. F.E. Madill S.S. (Wingham) Beverley A. Brown Brussels their politics. They certainly didn't ague with each other. Rae once referred to Clark's Constitutional brainstorming sessions as a "crisis management mindset". Clark got in a few -lo1d that thought ... ' B Adrian Hart barbs of his own. For those of you not fortunate enough to have heard Bob Rae speak longer than those wonder- ful 10 -second sound bites on the television news, let me just say he is forceful and brilliant. You honestly get the feeling you could present him with photo- graphic evidence of him com- mitting some unspeakable crime, and he could have you feeling foolish within seconds. He's that good. Those who hadn't heard him before (I had), said they may even considering voting NDP next time. Joe Clark has never been known for creating that power- ful an image, although be is not nearly as wimpy as his detrac- tors led us to believe in those .ripen months he was Prime Min - Letter to Editor ister. I found Clark to be surprising- ly witty and willing to poke fun at his own image. But then, how can a Prime Minister who loses his luggage ever live that down? Nevertheless, Clark is very ca- pable of stirring up our feelings of patriotism and nationalism. Rae can speak well of Canada, but you never quite get the same images of maple leafs and run- ning rivers that Clark can con- jure up. Rae seems to inspire thoughts of factories and smoke- stacks. Both guys were first class acts, both admired for their skills and devotion to their principles, if not entirely believed. Jokes about sitting on the "far right" and "far left" at the head table abounded all weekend, remind- ing us of the "extremes" of the Canadian political spectrum. Sunday I collected my dog and returned home. There was no televised Formula One race as I had hoped. I think it was in South Africa, explaining the blackout, so I had no "chips, pop and TV" to end a very political week. Never mind, there will be more races, but 1 expect it will be a long time before I get the chance to hear two very excel- lent, but diverse politicians speak at consecutive breakfasts. Council's raises impudent Dear Editor: Re: Stephen Pay increases Approximately four months ago I had the fortunate opportunity to attend an all -candidates meeting for Stephen Townshi at the Dash - p wood Community centre. This op- portunity was well attended by in- terested and concerned individuals. There were five individuals who had the desire to be elected to Ste- phen council, three individuals to deputy reeve, two for position of reeve and two people for the school board. Each individual had the opportunity to convey to the electorate their purpose or aim that they intended to promote if so hosen. Myself, and I believe most peo- ple in attendance that evening, will have based their decision on what each candidate had presented as their honest goals if given the hon- or of being elected. One of the pri- mary objectives conveyed to me by the candidates was the issue of re- straint in areas that, could be con- trolled by those elected. I personal- ly believe that since that October 29 meeting, the issue of restraint has not disappeared. I also hope the electedcials of Stephen Town- ship do not believe or think that the principal of restraint has ceased to exist so quickly just four months later. To be restricted or restrained, means to keep within certain lim- its. I find it disappointing that Ste- phen council has failed to lead by example, or at least follow other examples, by voting themselves pay increases for 1992 of 5.7 to 6.6 percent. I believe the private sector avenge is around 22 percent. I also believe that this private sector average is not being attained in and around Stephen township in a lot of circumstances. Although I find Stephen coun- cil's actions dissatisfying, do not come to the assumption that 1 find the increases are not deserving by some. However, the council in giv- ing itself a raise has shown to be out of touch with what is going on around them. Stephen council, restraint has been asked of you by the provin- cial government, the federal gov- ernment, and I believe by the elec- torate. You arc in a position to lead by example. I find the amount of increases to yourself, impudent. Dick Lord Crediton