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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1993-02-17, Page 4Page 4 Ttmes-Advocate, February 17, 1993 PutIII tun. Jim Boselett News Edam Ad*, Harte Ileilissellisouper. Don smith r: Deb Lord 6956 (65 km.) aMwssad ermairatterefrieskier addresses $$0.00 *los 62.1.0 0.8.7. t t tiealbaiillss (65 km.) or any bettor'asrrlor address •4150460.11as 428.75 (total 58.75) + 4.110.6.7. >Datokie Canada *1600 • inion 1511: Leap first, rescind later t is reassuring to see a munici- which side they erred. pal council carefully weigh up the is- sues and, after long deliberation, confi- dently introduce a bylaw they know to be of long-term benefit to their commu- nity. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Hensall. Village council have been debating the merits of a cat licensing bylaw for years. In December it appeared they had finally made up their mind to get a handle on the numbers of pet cats and stray cats.in the village - owners would have -to *oy1a license tag and, we as- sume, make (some effort to keep their pets mu of -trouble. Last Monday, council backed down and rescinded -their bylaw; proving they either don'thavelhe strength to govern on their convictions,,or the bylaw was an ill-conceived blunder on -Meir part. We'll leave :them to conclude on w Even the village animal control officer, who had long asked council for some authority to get a handle on the village's problem felines, has resigned over the fi- asco. A delegation of angry cat owners ar- rived at the council session to. demand the recision of the bylaw. Each delegate represents one rote in the 1994 munici- pal election, don't forget. But many of the arguments presented to council proved much of the knowl- edge of the bylaw being passed around in the village resulted more from fearful speculation in coffee shops than actual reading of the document. One delegate even told council that since Noah brought two cats onto his ark, they somehow enjoyed some favour with God. Faced with such daunting logic, no wonder council backed down. We presume Noah let the dogs swim. A.D.H. A worthwhile compromise hile it may not please everyone, Zurich council's decision to set aside part of the village arena as a no - smoking section makes sense. The minor athletic association had called for a ban on smoking in the dressing rooms, the glassed -in warm room, and;in the stands. Of course, this would just eve the lobby area for smokers, possibly making for a rather unappetizing first impression on those arriving to the arena. Would more sweeping restrictions on smok'n_g have the arena's business, as cc,,incil ft .;d? Other recreation centre's apparently haven't thought so, but many do not have, as varied uses for their ice surfaces in the off season. But as council recognized, the glassed in area at the south end of the ice sur- face virtually screamed out for some kind of restriction on smoking. Indeed, if anywhere in the arena deserved, to be smoke-free, that was it. No, the decision won't' please. every- body. Those used :to lighting up in the relative warmth of that area while watching a game or figure skating won't be pleased. And the dozens of -signato- ries on the minor athletic petition and, their representatives at council Thursdaym .evening probably hoped ffgr tore --•just one concession to theitiequest. , In time, further no -smoking areas may be added to the arena as demand war- rants. There may indeed be cause to suspect that council may be forced into increasing the non-smoking areas any- way. As pointed out by a representative of the Huron County Health Unit, the arena is a municipal workplace and should, under provincial legislation, have no more than 25 percent of its area set aside for smoking. It's not likely council will be able to hold off until smoking becomes socially unacceptable or too expensive to all but the rich. A.D.H. Does it mean the boy is artistic? Alexander has just turned 14. Hurray! We survived his first year as a teenager. First the good news: the house is still standing. Nobody has sued us yet, and the boy hasn't been picked up by the drug squad. So much for the worst predictions. On the Pnegative side, Alex now owns his own razor, after- shave, deodorant, and an elec- tric guitar. Although hc con- stantly tells me what terrible taste I have, he keeps wearing my shirts. Back to the good news: he has had a few little paying jobs here and there, and he has learned what it means to cam (and spend) his own money. He han- dles his own bank account quite well and writes his own cheques. So far he was over- drawn just once - because he couldn't find his bank statement. Which brings me to the state of his room. Alexander's room was never the neatest in the house Far from it. But now it looks like a cross between a gar- age sale and a garbage dump hit simultaneously by a major earthquake and a hurricane. The floor of Alexander's room resembles one of these modern "installations" found in the bet- ter art galleries of the westem world. Or a painting from Picas- so's perplex period. Artistically arranged on a blue background (what can be seen of the carpet) are knee -less jeans, my best shirt, jogging pants, gum wrap- pers, books, boxes full of audio tapes, baseball cards, marking Peter's Point 0. PalerHemal pens in many colours, assorted beads, Birkenstock sandals, an open suitcase, sticks, hats, bat- teries, pencil sketches, pads of paper, a distortion pedal, a skate lace tightener, a boot box, an electric guitar, a backpack, a tel- ephone and a telephone book, a ski magazine, a music book. nu- merous copies of Sports Illus- trated, John Steinbeck's "of Mice and Men", a ghetto blast- er, used and unused Kleenex, some red thread, an alarm clock, a pencil case., Scotch tape. an empty cardboard box; a black and white portable TV, an am- plifier, several dozen pens and pencils, two ping pong balls„ and his current homework. The entire still-life is criss- allalled by a bewildaring maze of iotension coeds opiod loose guitar strings. Beside his unmade bed stands the empty clothes horse we gave him a year ago, an empty shoe rack, an empty waste paper bas- ket, and an arm chair piled high with objects too numerous to catalogue. The books in his bookcase arc arranged in diagonal order. The walls and the door are covered with notes to himself, such as "Take shorts for gym!", "Hotdog money!!", and a cryptic "Thursday. ---". Persons entering Alexanders room, including his parents, sib- lings, do so at their own risk, of course. In addition to the signs 'No smoking. pleate", and "No snowmobiling" there is a warn- ing beneath a skull and cross- bones: "Stay out if you value your life!". Right next to it is an- other sign: "Alex, clean your room, Mom." What do you suggest? What do experienced parents of .teenagers do? Do you clean up after your kids? Do you make them clean up themaelves, if so, how? Do you order a dumpster and throw' everything out the window? Has anybody ever called an auction- eer? Or should we simply disre- gard the creative chaos in Alex- ,,g>ider's room, avoid looking at it, Asad hope that by tape age of 16 or AIMS-WILLiwa a, t -freak? 4 Y (r7— ,;,t Men r-T tMen are never so likely oto settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely." ... Themes Macauley • Patillatiad Each WsdossdaySIM IML tit 424 Iain It,, exotic, tmeay o, Neta Ole by J.W. !la3h! Potillsotlons TNaa aehs1.619,23 1 a.a.T. MI106210635 Society of victims I was .led into the darkened basement cell and there he sat, shackled to the far -wall and ting on his bunk..i°ttiraR name was George, the i er- ground leader of the failed polit- ical movement. I wasn't allowed to ask his last name, and I doubt he would tell me anyway. Actually, I'd been surprised when the Ministry of Positive Government granted me the in- terview; but I also realized the Ministry of Censorship would never allow the article to see the light of day. I was just doing my duty. "It almost worked," he said 'aright away, not bothering with .any :pleasantries or introduc- tions. He knew why I was there. Maybe he was interviewed eve- ry day; I would never know. He began ,to explain how his party got US. genesis in the late 1980s, disillusioned with the de- cline of communism they began to create a new socialist vision. With even the NDP embracing such capitalist notions as user - pay fees and toll roads, George spoke of plans to sweep through Canada and then the United States. Europe was bound to follow. "Yes, but was how it going to work?" I asked, noticing my pen was beginning to run dry. Damn, my ration for a replage- ment wa n`td#sse .for,Appt i iuvo weeks. "Everyone aspires to be a vic- tim," replied George, with what seemed a weak spark.of pride_ The.wgmeds groups were the Ant to'be' ietrated by the par- ty's agents provocateurs, he ex - Hold that thought ... By Adrian Harte plained. Soon, they were no longer promoting the view that women were to overcome male repression, but were instead to be seen as victims of male re- pression. "It was subtle point," said George. "But it was the begin- ning of further triumphs." Soon, he said no one referred to "domestic disputes", but to "victims of family violence". Men were seldom branded wife beaters, but were "victims of abusive childhoods". I could see George was fading into a reverie of failed dreams. "By the early 90s we had vir- tually eliminated the idea of bad driving. When you crashed you were either a victim of underen- gineered roads or inadequate au- tomobile safety standards," he pontinued. "When companies went bank- rupt, it was not bemuse of bad management, they were victimt of Free Trade, victims of the KO cession, or .were victims undereducated and ill - workforce." He went on for several min- utes, explaining how even bank robbers could be seen as victims of the pressures of a consumer society, and mass murderers were victims of lax gun laws. "You see," he finished. "We had nearly achieved the perfect victim society." "But what was the purpose of it all?" I asked, turning red at the • thought of my naweLd. "If everyone is a victim," George lectured. "Then all are absolved of responsibility for their own actions. The govern- ment could have and should have foreseen and prevented all fomis of victimization, or at least provide adequate compen- sation to all." George then weni on to de- scribe the government he hoped to lead, in full control of society, with all citizens gladly welcom- ing the relief from unfair victim- ization. "But we failed," he whispered, rubbing his wrists where the shackles chafed. "We were too slow to stop the crackdown. How could we have known the pendulum would swing so far the other way, and so quickly?" I left him there, sitting on the bed, them* withno last nantc. Bowling column missed Dear Editor: Fust of all, my name is Barb. I am the Publicity Chairperson for the Lucan Lanes. 1 would like to think 1 work hard and take pride in my publicity work. But this past week and a time before my article and if I may say, another publicity chairman's article was missed, or forgotten, pr there was no room. It is really, in honest words "upsetting" to go and purchase your paper sad ex- pect our articles to be in the paper (that is why we write them) and they are not there. The 5 Pin Bowl- ing sport and yes, it is a sport, has been in circulation since 1909, and the O.F.P.B.A. (Ontario Five Pin Bowling Association) was founded in 1964. There is great history be- hind this sport, as much as hockey, golf, baseball. This bowling 111 sport is well known to bowlers and non -bowlers. There has been a number of brood - casts on television over the years. For example, the Hiram Walker Pins Game. on Saturday evening T.S.N. So our question to your sports or paper editor "Why aren't our arti- cles in the sports section, and if the reason being, there is no room, maybe there should be Icss of something else, or add another Page. Yours truly, Barb Smith, Lucan Bowlers Association. We w,eIcorne roar mbar. All Jett talto the editor moat be sjned and are sugleQt to editing. Deliver to 424 ,Main Sbpot, or mall to P.O.8 w 00, Exeter, Ort. NOM 1S6