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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1992-07-15, Page 4Pape 4 Times -Advocate, July 15, 1892 Ruler. Jam seek.tt 410w& Editor. Adrian H e illIlrlossOl iunisdt: Don amen Composition 'Ms mpar. Deb Lord PubOr tions Mea NNEtste tbn Number 0386 tlnnH RATES MMWA wiadn 40 we.. (LS an.) addressed awe sea letter *sutler addresses *10.00 ales 12.10 O.L.T. Datable 40 hew (SS tan.) or airy letter sorter address *30.00 piss 11s0.00 (West 110.00) + ASO o.L.T. !I !i ilk Q.,.t f '� (ir' �� (t r► �` '; i • • neon Outride Oasnb *fa.00 "Men are never so likely to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely." ... Thomas Macaulay Pabltdbed Each WsOeeedey M oa d Exp, °merle, NOM 188 by l,W. Telephon.141S43S-1 at 424 Math St., Pubbeatle s Ltd. e.*.T. eR10e210s33 Hearing will leave its mark Can we safely assume that vir- tually all of Exeter will be at the Legion hall this Wednes- day evening? Certainly, a hearing on the budget of the police services board will not be high on everybody's list for entertainment, but it is far more impor- tant than most town residents might like to believe. There is, of course, far more at stake than just the $62,000 that is currently the gap between board budget and how much the town would rather pay for po- licing. We have heard that discussion tonight will centre on the budget issue directly, that all other concerns about policing are superfluous arguments. Yet it is hard to see how one can debate the fi- nances of a police department without having to make some hard and fast ar- guments about what kind of police force a town of Exeter's size and popu- lation needs, or what it can afford. Town residents need not feel that this i battle is town council's own. Several other municipalities across the province 1 are facing exactly the same problems, I keeping the Civilian Commission on I Police Services hopping from hearing to hearing. At stake is the question of whether or not police budgets are still under the control of the municipality, or whether they are to become another kind of prop- erty tax levy, such as a board of educa- tion tax. The difference, however, is that rate- payers can elect their trustees to the board of education. Two of three police service board members are nominated by the province. Can unelected officials have direct access to tax funds? There is no guarantee that the Ministry of the Solicitor General's panel tonight will have answers to such questions; and no guarantee answers they come up with won't be standard, rehearsed responses. The final decision, however, as to which side gains support for its respec- tive budget, will likely determine what course town council steers for the future of Exeter's policing. The option of OPP service is already being discussed openly and cost sugges- tions are being entertained. Tonight's meeting is bound to have some effect on those deliberations. Public participation is also certain to leave its mark. A.D.H. Dreams in Midsummer Nights .etween the heat, the full moon, and the crickets, I find that I sleep uneasily these days. Dreams - my midsummer night's dreams - keep me tossing and worrying. So when I stumbled across an ancient copy of The Egyptian Dream Bock at an antique shop, I gladly paid the asking price. How could anyone resist this ti- tle? "The Egyptian -Dream Book and Fortune -Teller containing an Alphabetical List of Dreams with their Signification and their Lucky Numbers. to which is Added a Treastise on Chiroman- cy or the Art of Divining the Temperament, Inclinations and Destiny of a Person by the Inter- pretation of the Lines of the Hand, also the Game of the Moon. Giving Clear and Con- cise Directions for Combining Together two or three Lucky Numbers in a Lowery, and con- cluding with a Chapter on Phre- nology, giving the Name, Loca- tion and Character of all the different Organs. with Simple Directions for Acquiring a Prac- tical Knowledge of the Science, etc., etc.. Illustrated with Ex- planatory Diagrams." The first thing 1 looked up was "nakedness,", because a few midsummer nights in a row now I dreamt that 1 was running through town at top speed and in a great panic because I had no clothes on. Absolutely none. 1f you know what it's like living in a small community where you're recognized by a lot of people, you'll be able to imagine my embarrassment. I mean, streak- ing in an anonymous big city would be one thing. But right outside your own bank? I tried desperately to hide the bare facts, but I noted that people Peter's Point • Peter Hesse] were staring and wondering. "Nakedness. To dream you are naked denotes sickness, pov- erty, affront, fatigue. To run while being in that state means perfidious friends." Well, i have lived with pover- ty, affront and fatigue all my life. But sickness? i better make an appointment to see Dr. O'Connor. And come to think of it, I've been wondering about some of my friends. in another of my recurring nightly episodes I find myself driving the car backwards at top speed. As if that weren't fright- ening enough, I also realize that my brakes are gone. All I can do is hope that everybody will get out of the way fast. So far, I haven:t crashed yet. But I know it's only a matter of time. Of course, the ancient Egyp- tians didn't have cars. i looked up chariots. Nothing. What about wagons? " Wagons. To mount one de- notes speedy indisposition, to come down from one, loss of honour, public sham, condemna- tion." This was getting worse. There is nothing in the dream book about driving in reverse without brakes. But Egyptian wagons 'probably had neither reverse gears nor brakes. In desperation 1 looked up horses. "Horse. To dream of a horse generally is a happy omen, but to mount one boldly and ride on _horseback in ladies' company spells misfortune and treason..." This wasn't getting me any- where. Frantically 1 looked up the words speed, fast, reverse, backwards - nothing. Maybe this book isn't as useful as I had hoped. Now if I had dreamt of a stag, that would have meant profit and joy. "To kill one or to have his akin or antlers means inheritance corn- ing from an old person, or tri- umph over enemies." Does anyone know how I might encourage more relevant and positive midsummer night's dreams? "Pomegranate. Denotes for- tune which will come from someone high in power or very wealthy." "Galley Slave. Denotes cou- rage. strength." "Dung. The dream of it de- notes money; to. dream of walk- ing in it, a considerable increase in business or fortune." On the other hand, things could be worse. My nightmares could include a turtle (a secret enemy). a lily (vain hope), a but- terfly (inconstancy), or cauli- flower (honour without any prof- it). Speak out! ' I1, 't II (r The Times Advocate continues to welcome letters toAtl p ` editor it oras a forum for open d'scursion of total is- sues, oonoems, complaints, and kudos. The Times a� maws the right to edit letter tor brevity. Plisse send your lettere to P.O. Box 860 Easter, Ontario. 186. Sign your letter with both name and address. Anonymous letters will not,6e published. "I think mi' mistake was digging up the part of the lawn that was crab grass. " Cry of the downtrodden For last week's paper, I select- ed out of the several editorial cartoons' we receive .each week, a rather naughty sketch of a man holding up a protest sign read- ing "straight white males". A premier Bob Rae snorts "Damn special interest groups" I've had a whole week to re- flect on this cartoon. Probably you have too, and maybe you came up with some of the odd thoughts I did about the possi- bilities of reverse discrimina- tion. Is it truly possible that after several years of looking out for all sorts of minorities and to those who perceive themselves to be disadvantaged in our soci- ety, can 'those -frvrn whom we arc protecting ourselves become disadvantaged in retum? I'll go out on a limb here and suggest that men of all races have been disadvantaged from the start. First of all, with wom- en making up about 53 percent of the population, men are a vis- ible minority and are bound to suffer some kind of oppression. I can certainly agree with women's groups who view the non -speaking roles females take in beer commercials as being a less -than -ideal portrayal of their worth. At the same time, however, I would say men suffer a far worse fate inanany other televi- sion ads. Husband is in the bathroom, wasting his tune by trying to clean off the shower tiles with a Hold that thought ... By Adrian Harte AMR power grinder to w avail. Wife comes home and shakes her head with a sad look usually re- served for small children or pets. She whips a bottle of new Ul- tra Mega-Kleen out of her pock- et and begins to explain to her imbecile mate that everyone knows the only way to clean tiles is with the crysto-phosphate pol- ymers he can't hope to under- stand. Helpless husband stands aside while sKe quickly demonstrates how it's done. He smiles weakly in admiration. Even the chil- dren know he's a nimrod. I'm sure you are familiar with these portrayals of male buf- foonery. . Industries know fe- males spend about 80 percent of all retail dollars. They know what side their bread is buttered on. Women even buy most new cars. Actually, it's about time men fought to protect their image. Think of all the violence one sees on television and at the mo- vies. It's all from men isn't it? All those Uzis, grenade launch- ers, and jet fighters are all in the hands of male actors. When was the last time you saw a mo- vie heroine blow up a building or drive a car off a cliff? Okay....Theinia and Louise, 1'n give you that one. But isn't all that Hollywood vi- olence bound to warp the social values of men? Surely if we . made sure men were no longer seen as the main evil -doers of the world in our fiction, and that cop -car chases weren't restricted to any one race, sex, or other mi- nority, then all our problems would be solved. Actually, if you follow that ar- gument through, that is just what we are being asked to believe about many of our special inter- est programs. Say, for example, if bald men were properly represented on our nation's police forces, can we assume crimes will no longer be committed by bald men? (Sorry.. follicly challenged). Thoughts from the north Dear Editor We are spending a few delight- ful days iu Canada's "Near Notch", and outside of a few persismnt mosquitos, enjoying ibis load of pine forests, grey rocks and rolWwg countryside. We were lucky to ahead the fi- nal Air Show at North Bay, com- plete with the profeasioad perfec- tion of the "Snow BMW, a fly past of CF -18's, and various other eye flying. In cootcast to the London Free Press. the North flay "Nttg,Oet" wive extensive coverage to Air Force activities, with a cartoon and bad article on the Etlisoril page. What a ouaPMt to Landon, who *wed Cea alia's big mon- ion! 'The "Nugget roams to be a progressive, fen t paper, not subservient to Toronto, and its So- cialist regime. h is a refreshing breath of fresh air. We are near Mauawa, a northern town with a distinctive Freoch Canadian -Indian flavour, Canadian flags are every- where in evidence, not a single Deur de lis flying, a small surprise. On Main with local people, 61- moseeverybody must have watched die Queen on T.V. They were unit- ed in gee thought, disgust with Motsbeidge sad pis anitieat,faloak companion and abrin oommaaa on the arrival lupe 30. They kept harping and whining about the cost. and referred to the troubles the Royal family were having! As if either was the way to speak of a guest! They were not as horrible on July I, but that horse faced fe- male who was M.C. of the eater- tainrneot was a disgrace. However, the natund goodness of Canadians showed, in spite of the C.B.C. The crowds were colourful and made a treat picture. What evocable people in Cana- da's northl • Yours truly, Libby, J.M. Gibson