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A worthy goal
L espite continual complaints of
1 downloading from :upper levels
:of government, local municipalities
'have been doing quite well to hold the
lines on their'ew n spending.
We see Biddulph Township, Lucan,
:and Goderich •have -put -together budgets
}that
resultifiv.no Antill gate increases to
:property owners.
Ratepayers often don't :give much
:credit to these -xnutdci'ptdities when
:opening up-their-tax'bills..Even though
Exeter council managed-to:110, without
rincreasing: property taxes :last year, Ave
ward coatinual.complhints-from:people
;overditeir axes.
-indeed, :those saxes =did go -up, -and as
council .has noted :many _times, -tthe
'blame is itrisarly always :placed :on :the
•_government whose ,name is on :the:en-
velope. The .astute -ratepayer would
dtave -noted :that . even =though their -mu-
micipal rates :didn't increase, :die _county
and school taxes did;'but'whoreads.the
flneprint?
Several municipalities have ' to£ten
wanted to send their own :tax notices
out separately from the county :and
school board. Many -have -wen sug-
gested those govtsmncnts send out
their own bills. Unfortunately, bylaw,
ID
int
the municipality is obligated to collect
for them all. __-
In the same way that service stations
get blamed for every increase`gn gaso-
line taxes, the counties and education
boards know` they can usually get away
with some small increase in -their mill
rate. County council is doubly blessed,
since being made up of a rttotley crew of
-assorted council representatives, it- can
*approve expensive studies, new fees,
and higher taxes without being held di-
rectly responsible by anyone.
What we need to see this year, is -the
eounty:councilsand -boatds of education
follow the •examples- set -by municipali-
ties -such As Lucan; Biddulph, Goderich,
and :the ,other towns rand townships
was tag on: rease:free budgets. Mid-
dlesex :has- its hands-full:this year after
London :annexed a whole township.and
more, but is:thereany:reason why -Huron
cannot cover its increased costs with last
year's .growth, .meagre _as :.it :may have
been? The :board of -education needs to
ldo likewise.
It isn't a .question of finding excuses to
explain away :higher taxes. A goal has
to :be set to hold :the line, and it must be
met.
A great show
.:::
be Optin isst Home and Gar-
den Show, :now :into its -eighth year,
opensthisRiday. • Onceagain, we can
expect -this to be ane of _tlhelargestipub-
lic-events on:the_Exeter calendar.
The Optimists .deserve a great deal of
credit for notonly creating this venue
for local businesses to advertise their
wares; abut also for keeping it alive and
vital over:the years.
As a fundraiser, it is one of the most
impressive : sources tof revenue for
youthprograms in:the.community. The
money, usually .over 320,000, is raised
through :the:hard - volunteer work :of .the
organization.. It:doesn't.come from raf-
fles, lotteries, or:other forms of gaming
that sere becoming increasingly signifi-
A.D.H.
cant ways of raising charitable funds
these days.
Businesses gladly pay the entry fees to
setup their :displays at the show, know-
ing about 4,000 potential customers will
be walking by over the weekend. The
visitors themselves happily .pay the entry
fee, knowing that those very same dis-
plays may offer inspirations for home
projects they are planning.
There isn't much :to fault with the Opti-
mist Home and Garden Show. Just
about everyone ends up a winner, partic-
ularly the youthprograms which directly
benefit from the funds raised.
May .this show be as successful as past
years, and may the Optimist Club con-
tinuelo:build:on it for years to come.
A.D.N.
What's in a landscape?
The other day my travels took
me into the middle. of Lambton
County. Even if it wasn't for the
long drive, there was still no
doubt in my mind as to where I
was.
If someone had taken me
blindfolded to that very spot in
the middle of the countryside
and asked me to guess where I
was, I'm sure I'd say right away
I was in Lambton t"'tipy, ;or
maybe Kent.
The only trouble is, I'm not
sure how I would know this.
What is it that makes Lambton
look like Lambton - meaning of
course that it doesn't look at all
like this south end of Huron
County?
I've puzzled over this for a
few days now, and I'm pretty
sure that I'd be hard pressed to
tell the countryside apart in
side-by-side photographs; but
standing there, it's all so obvi-
ous.
Exactly what is obvious?
Both South Huron and Lambton
are flat as pool tables, devoid of
what would pass for scenery in
other regions. The differences
must be quite subtle. It think we
have more woodlots in Huron,
the roadways are graded a little
higher perhaps, and the farm-
houses aren't built nearly so
close to the road as is the prac-
tice in Lambton. I know I'm
reaching here, but there is no de-
nying that it feels very different
to be standing at the roadside of
another Ontario county. Appar-
ently one doesn't need sweeping
mountain vistas or herds of wil-
debeest tramping the plains to
send a little message to the brain
that says "hey, this isn't home".
I suppose there are many peo-
ple who could give me several
geographic reasons why certain
regions are visibly distinct, ex-
actly what makes the Huron
countryside what it is, and why
places like Lambton, Kent,
Perth, and Oxford all have their
own "look".
I can think of several people I
can ask who are bound to be of
help. Perhaps I'll even get some
letters pointing out what an idiot
I am for not noticing the obvi-
ous. Maybe I'd rather not know.
Of all the counties I've lived
in, Suffolk, Devon, Hampshire,
Middlesex, it seems rather reas-
suring to find that there's one
that now actually feels like
home.
"Men ere never so likely
to Settle a questibn rightly
as when they discuss it
freely."
... Monies Macauley
lhibNMied each Wednesday Momhrg at 424 Mein St.,
Exeter, Ontario, NOM lite I.W. Eery Publication, ttd.
Ts1s l nne 1 -1519 -2.3s -133i
O.E.T. 011106210935
don't call me forgetful
I have no -trouble -rcinember-
g wbattappened years ago. In
that respect, I'm better than'Eliz-
. Try me! Ask me what I
rdid in the slimmer of 1952, for
:example, and I'd be able to give
you a fairly good summary.
I also remember what hap-
pened a few minutes ago. No,
there ,is absolutely nothing
wrong :-with my long-term or,
short!t:emt ory.
It's jog :the uin-between stuff
I'm having difficulty with.
Now where did .1 put that
pocket calculator, for example?
I know I used it this morning. I
already pasted a strip of bright
rainbow colours on both side of
its black case, so it won't blend
in with its dull surroundings.
But I don't remember where I
used it. It's driving me crazy.
Elizabeth claims she told me
yesterday that 1 was to drive
Duncan to a medical appoint-
ment today. I simply don't re-
member hearing about it .Why
would she tell me yesterday?
Why not this morning? So natu-
rally, given my medium-term
memory disability, I forgot. I'm
as frustrated about it as she is.
Duncan is the only one who isn't
bothered by it. Next week or
(text month will be fine with
him.
This is the age of euphe-
misms. A little while ago, 1
would have called my condition
forgetfulness, and you would
have said that I was losing it., or
at least losing my mind. We're
not that direct these days. Call-
ing me forgetful implies that it's
my fault And we know today
that nothing is ever anybody's
fault. Not laziness, not stupidity,
not selfishness. Not rudeness,
not bad manners, not antisocial
behaviour.
Peter's
Point
e
Peter Hessel
The proper term for the 90s is:
I'm mnemotechnically . chal-
lenged. Which means first of all
that someone else is to blame
(my parents, my teachers, the
government...), and secondly
that my condition is not a dead-
end, but that I can reach my ca-
pacity within certain prescribed
. limits.
Gosh, I'm feeling better al-
ready. Now if I could 'remember
'the point I was trying to make
when I first started to write this
:column, I could being this argu-
:;mentation to a speedy conclu-
sion and save my readers further
agony.
Oh, yes, it's coming back to
me. I was trying to say this: peo-
ple should take into account that
I have this disability. Don't ex-
pect me to remember anything
•,that took place between, say,
..April 1992 and ten minutes go.
-`'Fiat's my blank period. My
• •,memory pit. I know that stuff
41
It
goes • in, but nothing . •seems fete :
COMB out, not eyt't'gtgb�ge. '•�"wt+"' �+
'ib fight this, I`ve set np s-tatth- '
er elaborate system of remin-
ders: seven different calendars,
an elaborate network of intricate
knots, messages to myself writ-
ten oe the walls and doors of my
office. Why, even the screen of
the computer with which I write
this column is surrounded by
messages, like: "SAVE, stupid!"
and "Check the calendars!" and
"Look at your palms!"
The palms of my hands look
like the Rosetta stone, with hier-
oglyphics, demotic and Greek
characters that only I can read -
if I remember where I put the de-
ciphering code.
A sign on the inside of my of-
fice door asks: "Is the hat off?".
On the outside it says: "Lock
door and remove keys."
Is my condition getting worse?
I can't remember. All I know is
that I seem to be spending more
time every day reading remin-
ders, trying to understand cryptic
messages, and looking for
things.
I regularly lose my car in park-
ing lots. But the other day 1
thought I was being really chal-
lenged, when I couldn't find it in
my own driveway. 1 walked over
to the office: it wasn't there ei-
ther. I walked to my in-laws'
house. Nothing. I walked back to
the office to call the police,
when the phone rang. It was the
Ford dealer: "Your car is ready."
How did it get into town? And
how did I get back home? You
tell me.
Suppk)mentary' going ahead
Dear Editor:
1 am writing in regards to the
Usborne Council minutes that ap-
peared in the March 24, 1993 is-
sue on page 8, column one.
The "Supplementary".to the Os-
borne Book, "Between the Fenc-
es" is going ahead as planned. By
the interest shown and the number
of inquiries, the people of Usbarne
and area are supporting us. They
are submitting stories and giving
us pictures in
anticipation and
excitement of
another book be-
ing printed. When
you are doing your
spring ,houseclean-
ing, will you look in that box or al-
bum in the ,attic, closet or drawer
for the one -room school pictures.
We.are taking the Usbome School
.graduation pictures now. We take
all cur pictures using solar power
and . its you know there haven't
been many days of sun this year.
We haven't taken a picture the last
two weeks.
In regards to the family stories,
keep working on them and mail or
give them to Mary Bladder or
Fern Dougal I...
A
Fern DougalI
Exeter