HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1992-07-29, Page 4Pape 4
Times -Advocate, July 29, 1992
Publisher: Am Beckett
Newa $dlter: Adrian Harte
Meusger: Don Smith
Oompeslllen Miller: Deb torn
eew
Publications Mail Registration Number 0686
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orris*, 40 miles 165 fun.) or sny letter eanlertaddrees
030.00 plus 120.00 (total 50.00) +1.50 6.s.T.
•
Ostalda Ohlrisde 016.00
"Men are never so. likely
to settle a question rightly
as when they discuss it
freely."
... Thomas Macauley
Published Each Wednesday Morning et 424 Main It.,
/Neter, Ontario, NOM 188 by J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd.
Telephone 1.51.9-239-11S1
O.S.T. In1o6216e06
Cottage owners need to look again
tjsually it is easy to point a fin-
ger at those who are polluting
our world. f
Those who have the most to lose from
environmental regulations come to
mind. Those who dismiss the findings
of scientists and researchers as alarmist
or inconclusive are often guilty of pro-
tecting their chemical factories, or
smoke stack industries. On a smaller
level we also accuse big -money devel-
opers for brushing aside environmental
concerns when seeking approval for
HEN! SUMMERS WHEN I
WAs Youi1G, SUN'D SHINE
3---4 DAYS IN A Row.
WEEKENDs Tho!
problem by solving many small ones.
The control of manure and cattle ac-
cess to watercourses on farms is said to
be well on its way to improvement.
Farmers are quickly learning and devel
oping new ways to handle such proh
!ems.
However, the same cannot be said 01
the cottage owner. If they bought their
cottage recently, they probably took the
word of the realtor that the septic tank
worked fine. If they have owned the
property a long time, they may never
have giv
But statistics show a shocking number
of septic systems in cottage areas, arc
faulty, inadequate, or not properly main-
tained. Even if a cottage owner suspects
all is not well below the back lawn,
many likely choose to ignore the prob-
lem, justifying it by assuming that their
little cottage can't be adding all that
much to the world's environmental cri
sis.
Of course, if all think that way, they,
nothing will be solved and Grand Bend
and other lakeshore beaches will contii+
ue to be closed each year when bacteria
levels rise above 'the magic 200 fecal
coliforms per 100 millilitres of water.
.But hopefully more cottage owners
will take time from their holiday week-
ends to think twice about their septic
system, will think about the provincial
grants being offered under the CURB
program, and will take the first step to
making an improvement.
The first step is the -hardest.
new projects.
Especially in cottage country. That
which makes a great escape from the
city - sand, lakes, rivers - also often
makes for a poor place to put large
numbers of people in cottages, condos,
or trailers.
Sandy soil isn't the best medium for
filtering out septic tank wastes. Conse-
quently, new regulations from the prov-
ince are creating the Shoreline Manage -
merit Plan being administered by our
local conservation authority. We can
expect limitations on development to
be much stricter than they have been
before.
The recent closure of the local beach-
= is yet.another symptom of the over-
loading of our lake fronts.
But the conservation authorities are
also running another program for the
, province. A program to Clean Up Ru-
ral Beaches, announced last year, is
aimed at cutting bacteria flow into the
lake from farms and rural septic sys-
tems. An approach to tackle the big
A.D.H.
z
The romance of picnics
Picnics are thc essence of
summer, I'm told. People dream
of picnics when the icy January
winds howl around their houses.
When they button up the hoods
of their parkas and climb over
snowbanks to get from one side
of the mad to the other.
Picnics have been romanti-
cized in musicals and movies,
by composers and painters, by
poets and novelists. And yes,
there once was an age of grand
picnics, of dainty ladies in long
flowery dresses with deep de-
colletes, serving exquisite tid-
bits from intricately woven
wicker baskets. An age of
bearded gentlemen in straw hats
sitting peacefully in the grass,
relaxing on neatly spread col-
ourful blankets. The gentlemen
were gracefully served by said
dainty ladies. it was an age of
pink-cheeked, meticulously
-dressed, well-behaved- --ehildeen
quietly dancing in the back-
ground - always at a respectful
distance - while their elders en-
joyed the food and the pastoral
scene.
I guess it was inevitable that
picnics had to be ruined along
with everything else. The dainty
ladies have become liberated
women. They have traded their
flowing gowns for no-nonsense
Bermuda shorts, the decolletes
for T-shirts, the tidbits for hot-
dogs, the wicker baskets for
plastic coolers. The straw Jests
have become baseball caps, the
blankets picnic tables, and these
days nobody gets served by any-
body. It's catch -as -catch -can.
The children have noisily
moved into the foreground,
everything tastes of ketchup and
relish, and everybody is far too
Peter's
Point
•
Peter Hessel
busy to pay attention to what's
left of the scenery - pastoral or
otherwise.
In short, picnics today arc
chaos. They always take place
either in blistering heat and drip-
ping humidity or at the precise
moment when mosquitoes and
wasps are at the peek of their
-outbreak. Picnics may begin-ton=—nie-will-each--nibble-vn--a-sand-
der a perfectly blue, cloudless
sky, but before anybody can say
"pass the pickles, please", black
thunderheads roll in, a minor
tornado sweeps the paper nap-
kins away and plays frisbee with
the paper plates.
So instead of enjoying a
pleasant summer meal in the
cool, clean, convenient kitchen,
ewe transport our food to the her
outdoors where fifty-seven spe-
cies of insects fight over the but-
ter and the salad dewing and
the hard-boiled eggs. Preferably
under a tree populated by flocks
of birds with diarrhea.
1 have discovered another lay.
governing picnics: When we ar-
rive at a roadside picnic area, the
place is always deserted. But be-
fore we can open our hampers.
the table to the left of us in occu
pied by the Satan's Angels mo-
torcycle gang, and the one to the
right by the local chapter of the
dog obedience training society.
As soon as Duncan and Step
anie sit down, they have to go to
the bathroom. And unless out
picnic takes place in our own
backyard, the bathroom is usual
ly so far away that by the time
the kids finally return from it.
they have to go again.
And there is never enough of
the right kind of food. Elizabeth
may prepare huge piles of sand
wiches, eggs, pork chops.
cheese, pickles, fruit, and zuc
chini bread. Plus two cookies
per person. Duncan and Stepha
wich, destroy two eggs, gorge
themselves on pickles and fight
over the cookies. And spill their
drinks. And pick pieces of fossi
lized chewing gun from under
the picnic table!
But we never learn.
Without fail, when March
comes around, Elizabeth will
say: "I wish we could eat outside
again. 1 can't stand being cooped
up inside any longer..."
And nobody seems to remem
ber the mess, the flies, the mos-
quito bites, the bother and frus-
tration of picnic time. Nobody
but me.
Letters to Editor
Thanks from Heart Foundation
Dear Mr. Hartc:
On behalf of representatives
from the Heart and Stroke Fotmda-
tion, the Canadian Cancer Society,
Take -Heart Huron and the limn
Country Health Unit, 1 would like
to thank you for your excellent
coverage of our proposed smoking
bylaw. Since the introduction of a
Dear Adrian:
Many thanks from the Usbornc
Sesquicentennial Committee for
the excellent coverage your paper
provided for our 150th celebration
activities over the past seven
months.
As 1 have Teamed, it is difficult
to Juggle news items and meet ec-
smoking bylaw can be a sensitive
issue, we appreciated
the positive
and certainly
thought-
provoking edito-
rial that you I I
wrote for the Jule
8 edition of thc
Exeter Time. -Advocate.
Thank you
onomic conditions
at the same
time. You and
your staff have
attempted to ac
commodatc our
press releases and
cover the special
Once again. thank you for your
help. We hope that the implemen-
tation of a smoking bylaw in Exet-
er will soon become a reality. We
will keep you updated on any new
progress.
Yours truly
Heather Hoover
Heart Health Consultant
Huron County Health Unit
events as often as possible, and this
has been most appreciated
Thank you for your support
Sincerer ,
Bev Prow
Chairman, f(rcxnouon & Adver-
tising
Thank you to the TA
Dear Jim Beckett:
Many thanks w you and all your
staff for the assistance and service
provided during the prepara-
uon—of the Usbome Sesquicenten-
nial special edition.
The friendliness of the girls in
the front office who came to know
nue ("go right on back"). Barb
Cousin s tenacity in the face of
tough economic
limes and Barh
Robertson's pa-
tience in the dark-
room were all very
much appreciated. i
Deb Lord's tech-
nical expertise, helpful suggestions.
and encouraging ccirnmentwere
qualities which enabled this pubih
cation to conic to completion.
Without - her help. this novice
would not have survived'
It has been a pleasure to work
with such a supportive group of in-
dh vidual
Tail wagging the dog
Dear Editor.
Walking daily on the neat streets
of this lovely town, people stop to
chat. and several themes seem
general.
Everybody is horrified by the
terrible tales of rape, child molest-
ing and murder. These really aw-
ful people will never be "rehabili-
tated". We should bring back the
death penalty. At least these fiends
wouldn't do it again! Take your
pick of methods: thc noose, the
electric chair, fatal injections. As
long as we arc rid of such vermin
Nobody seems
to think of the
innocent vic-
tims, a child's life
snuffed out in a ter-
rible, terrible way.
111)
11 we had a national
,yg+eferendum, the death penalty
would win, hands down.
As to the too -rah -rah about the
unification of Canada: if Quebec
Sincerely,
Bev Prow
really want\ to go • let her go!
They've whined long enough. Who
won that great baste. in 1759" Not
the Preach, but since then the tail
has wagged the dog But before
they go, they should assume their
share of Use; national debt. and all
Canadian defense project~ should
be moved from Quebec 'lien let
them howl .
Yours truly,
"(Abby",
1.M. Oibsun
CommunitY-generous to Flowers of Hope
Dear Editor:
On behalf of the Association for
Community Living, South Huron,
would like to thank the entire
community for their generous sup-
port of our Flowers of Hope Cam -
pa gn. Our target foe the 1992
campaign was Sl5,000, but coaari-
butions have exceeded the mark,
totalling S16,800. At a time of re-
cession, financial o ons aj is .and
high unemployment, it is both
gratifying and heartwarming taste
the level of support we received
throughout the Conunimity.
Our faithful captains and door-
to-door canvassers , ail gave so
willingly of their Wne, dad wore
obviously well, ioeived by ..those
who contributed.
The areas cov-
ered in 1992
included the
Exeter and
Grand Bend area,
Healed! aad He-
wn Park, Stanley.
Stephen, Usbornae, Hay and Tucker -
muds Townships, Dashwood, Cen-
rtralia, Crediton and Zurich. plus
and RR
G Bad. $u c dedication and
gametosity es -shown by our cum -
muauy, volunteers can only serve
inspiration to the board, altaff
edeoes of our aaasociaun
swi*wthe
ort
offlmoetogetherto
society,
who
arc mentally challenged. Whether
they arc served in our ggr�oouuip
homes, the ARC Workshop, Main -
street Janitors in Exeter, the SIL
Living), or in community, day pro-
grams, our clients will continue to
benefit from your interest and sup-
Port -
The needs of the Flowers of
Hope have blossomed into a re-
newed ispuit of cooprration across
our community. Long may 'hist
spirit continue to grow, and mai
thanks to all those who nude it
possible.
Roberta Winker
President
Community Living, South•lluru n