HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-06-09, Page 4111111111111111111111
Lett. tt) I til,v
Page 4
limes -Advocate, Juno 9,1993
'Publisher: 11m Beckett
News Editor: Adnan Harte
Business Manager: Don Smith
Composition Manager: Deb Lord
Publbatkx,s Mail Registration Number 0386
SiPtlr1N RAT>: S'A
lallINIIIrtato wars (es rm.) addraawd
teleran/Mr ersieler iddwsees 630.00 pies 62.10 G.S.T.
(65 ion.) or any letter carrier eddy us
$30.00 0as 430.00 (total 60.00) + 4.20 G.S.T.
_tJ JoCanada.68.00
"Men are never so likely
to settle a Questioh rightly
as when they discuss it
freely."
*dMhlArd'BateiNNO l hole S► t 4)41rnatn St.,
Exeter, tints To eB y I W sty met+. Ltd.
6 1
B.S.T. freioe ttrd35
-Who calls the tune?
utd;so: it mew tears Exeter's
wc#uccois* become.oinething'we
;nail :anr:.ohildren ;about -
:back in -the 'days ire nown.actual-
ly:d its wtvn:podice.
"The:decision:tto switch -.'to OPP-cover-
:tage is :no :doubt fictive 'to a : town
:council -that:has teen:facedwith quick-
ly rising -castsaassociatedwith-running a
town force; :and faced with the: fact :that
the :protincial :ministry is taking :an in-
. asingly strong :hand .in the adminis-
tration.ofthose forces.
The: chief and officers _used to be con-
sidered :employees of :the town. De-
spite The fact !they .are still :paid through
town .taxation, :the -reality is that the
.province has _assumed them _as .their
own :employees. They answer to the
police services board, which in turn.an-
swers to the ministry.
Quite .understandably, council's :atti-
tude has been to wash its 'hands of :the
whole .thing. 'If they .can't administer
:their own police force, then get rid :of it,
.pay :the OPP for. covering :the town, and
let.theprovince worry.about that.
If we.all save money in the long run,
.then it,only seems to make. the. decision
I all ,the more. sound.
But...and this is a .big one...what hap-
pens when the love,affairends?
rst!tn you name :exactly how many
dimes Exeter:council has 'been :happy
with any service they have purchased
from the province in -recent years? Can
you name,any?
Never ones to. sit :quietly -by while .the
province interferes in -municipal affairs,
Exeter town council has been :perhaps
one of the most :vocal :ow:me its of pro-
vincial policy of :a11 municipalities this
►size.
What would lead us to -think that Exet-
ser will remain ,deliriously happy with
.paying nearly half a 'zillion dollars a
year to the :province for OPP coverage
.forever? While the deal struck with the
`IPP might look good now,- flow will it
Gook when the province decides munici-
pal police contracts need to be in -
.creased, :or that -the -extent of police cov-
erage should be reduced :unilaterally.
There is nothing to .suggest - that this
government, or those to come, will not
immediately re -write the rules to suit
whatever .hardships or initiatives arise in
the future. Some of .the things that make
today's contract so :kppealing might
evaporate with the next election or bud-
get.
The one paying the piper does .cannot
.always call The tune, as council has dis-
covered time and again when dealing
with .upper tiers of -government.
One .argument we hear is that if the
OPP contract proves .unworkable. in the
future, then the town can _always re-
establish its own police. That would be
much easier said than .done. The capital
costs of once again providing for a sta-
tion,.cruisers, communications would be
staggering -..and may likely -keep future
councils tied to the OPP contract.
For the town's sake, we hope this deci-
sion proves -right, not only in the next
few years, but for years to come. It
would otherwise be very hard to undo.
A.D.H.
Are fathers rally necessary?
1 sometimes ask myself: Are
fathers really necessary? Or do
we fathers have an .inflated
sense of importance?
Like . most fathers, I feel that
I'm unique, essential, wonderful
and - of course - irreplaceable.
What I want to hear :from my
kids is a :simple, ungnastioning
affirmation of my significance.
And yes. 1 want them to 'expect
me. Why? :Because Tm.lheir fa-
ther.
.But .an uneasy thought has
crept into my mind on the.eve of
yet another Father's Day, a
thought that is gnawing at my
confidence. What if I were :sud-
denty to disappear, or vanish?
•Wwtld the world of my kids
came to inland?
1 know .lots of :people mho
have become m llialittated
adults without -.ever having
known their male,pn nt. Many
children .whuke mother er has .to
play the role of both parents aur-
vive very nicely. i think it's only
a myth that kids without fathers
become misfits.
There are approximately ;Otte
million single parents in C ms&
Statistically therefore, ow
than two million Canadian chil-
dren have only one parent. 'the
overwhelming majority of these
kids are growing up without a
father. (More than 40% of fami-
lies arc "breaking up" at present,
and the rate is accelerating.)
But do all these fatherless
children face a gloomy future?
There arc actually indications
that a kid is far beuer off with-
out a father than with a certain
type of father. While it is true
that the absence of a father can
create problems, the pre ence bf
some fathers can be far worse, It
is better for children to live in a
conflict -free single-paraent home
.than.in a conflict -ridden but "in-
tact" family.
Apparently many fathers feel
per's
Point
•
Pater Ideate'
that they have done their part
once they "fathered", i.e. begat
.their children. To .many :pngple
.hat's all .that flattpdng :marts.
The ward "motsalia :an Ishe
tuber band is jarded,as soon -
ymous with taring And .l>Itutur-
ng. -P lie lPs it's -pee for .us to
chi ge .tate: atlguage,in is area.
Or,,Wne .for .some fathers to
rrlheintutitude.
AmtaeuLa twey indicated that
,tt»pe- n:__ of fathers had
height -or read "f xit books", but
fatly 7% said that they had
: bought or read books on child
t aianng. Are lawnmowers and
snowmobiles more important to
them than their children?
I don't think that's the case.
But I do believe that most fa
thers think they already know
how to handle their kids. They
don't havc.to read about pa ent-
ing. What's there to read abut?
It seems that many fathers are
still out of ouch with today's re-
ality. They cling to yesterday's
role models and expectations.
These fathers do all the "manly"
things with the kids - especially
the boys - like taking them to a
hockey game or duck hunting.
And if their boys become:good
hockey players or duck hunting,
what more could these fathers
ask for? When it comes to little
girls, .these fathers leave them to
the women to be brought up.
Dad will .give ahem a kiss.and a
hug oncein a while.
'Fewer fathers .than mothers
seem to attend nursery school
meetings or. Home 'and School
nieetiitgs. They'll .allow :up for
some .of .the work sessions -10
bull. :playground equipment or
hslpT th the driving—But .they
e ' - t mothers to be primary
ers of the young, to take
responsibility for them.
They themselves are content
with being breadwinners (even
though their wives may earn as
much if not more), occasional
helpers, playmates and discipli-
narians. That kind of father will
"babysit" his children when
"their mother" is not available.
So are fathers really neces-
sary? The answer is only a very
qualified yes. Fathers who de-
vote a lot of time to their chil-
dren, take an active part in their
development at all ages, show
their affection verbally and
physically, are very necessary.
Fathers who are too macho to
hug their kids (including their
sons), too busy or. preoccupied
to have meaningful talks with
them, fathers whose major Con-
tribution to family life consists
of ordering, shouting, and hit -
ung, are totally unnecessary.
Credit: Some of the ideas for
this column came from the
books "Two Hugs for Survival"
and "Are Fathers Really Neces-
sary?" by Dr.' Harold A. Minden,
well-known Canadian clinical
psychologist.
Shoe box parade
There comes a time in .all our
lives when we must knuckle -un-
der to .the need to buy new
shoes. It's something I try to put
off as long as possible, even
.though I.do enjoy .the hedonistic
• pleasures of new footwear -
once Ihave.them.
My runners are.getting beyond
the point of looking comfortably
worn: they're just plain beaten
up. Even Any casual walking
shoes are looking a little too.cas-
ual. It's only when. they're on
.the verge of collapse I break
.down and visit the shoe store.
1 don't fear the purchase. I
don't hate -shoes. Maybe I just
dread the ,.byproduct of buying
new shoes: the shoe box. 1 can't
throw away shoe :poxes. Long
after the new runnersare scuffed
and muddy, the box is there to
remind me i paid a :little extra
for the helium -filled insole, the
carbon fiber :arch supports, ,and
the quilt -in interface.,to Idohvn-
load all exercise data to a home
computer (well, maybe my next
pair).
Rut the box can't be left emp-
ty. They fit so nicely under the
bed, on the shelves of closets
n'
Hol that
thought...
By
Adrian Harte
and in drawers that they just
have to be used to stash stuff.
Where does this stuff _.carte
fuodm? t Where .was ithefote I. got
the box to put it in? I worry
:about this a lot because I really
don't know how I aocumnlate it
all. But,when there's a new shoe
box in town, there's stuff to go
in it.
I 'II rbave boxes of old photos,
boxes'ofalmost-obsolete camera
ar.cessories, boxes of bicycle
pacts, •extra wires and jacks for
the stereo, souvenirs (I have a
ship in a bottle I got from the
-HMS Victory when I was eight:
too tacky to display, but an in-
valuable memory), and even
boxes of smaller boxes that
might he useful someday.
Getting rid of this flotsam that
floats around my life is possible.
Every.naw and then I'll lift a lid
on a shoe box to see if I can turf
something that has provenitself
useless for a full five years. I'm
only ever about ten percent suc-
eessful.
Thte crushing reality to this
problem is .new shoe boxes ar-
rive quicker than the old ones
get emptied.
Give me a few years and my
home will look like a fully -
stocked shoe store—without the
Shoes. ,
Thanks to Ei' and area
Dear Editor:
To the staff of the Exeter Times
Advocate and citizens of Exeter
and surrounding area.
Thank you for your assistance in
helping reduce the speed of traffic
on Highway 4 through Lucan.
News ,items
and respoaae
by Exeter -to -
London com-
muters have no-
ticeably improved
tie traffic situa-
it
licit here. 1 Amok Gad also.
Much still needs to be flaw, but
you have math a signiti aat emltri-
bution to safety.
Thtswk ,you, ,sad all the Meat to
you and your town asd bones.
Bob Mowtrinjohn
No cutback in
speech pathology program
Dear Editor:
I am compelled to respond to the
article entitled "Why Zero increas-
es are Difficult" printed in thc.Ifu-
roe Public Education supplement
to your newspaper on May 12,
1993.
The article indicates that there
has been a cutback in speech pa-
thology support to the schools.
This is in reference to the School
Health Support Services Program
that is administered by the Hauon
County Ilome Care Program and
funded by the Ministry of Health.
There has been no cutback in this
program. In the 1991/92 school
year there were 1.418 visits to chil-
dren for speech
pathology ser-
vices and in
1992/93 there
were 1/166 visits.
Responsibility
for each specific
type of speech and language ser-
vice is outlined by the Ministries of
ljducatiun, Health and Community
& Social Services in the Intermini-
sterial Guidelines for the provision
of Speech & Language Services
docwnent. This is where the stated
"cwrtroversy" lies.
Horne Crane is committed to con
tinue to fulfill its' mandate to tlx.
students of Huron County. We pro-
vide ongoing professional speech
pathology services for students
with speech disorders and, at least
at present, foresee no cutbacks in
this service.
Joanne M. Jasper
Director, Huron County
Homo Care Program