HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes 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