The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1993-07-07, Page 4PA10 4, "i:INs-Advocate, July 7,1993 PULflJLtJSHi9l�lloltett Ndt i L.Ttrlbn Harte eusln r: con smith ComNa111t>I�rr: vela Lord IItageolliM IoMNumber0 /�. ��33s6 ,AD-� to non t rte► o wler t/Ihayssee $30.00 plus 62.10 G.S.T. Ooblde 40 4ltll s (41l ion.) er any lett r 1MWter oadress 000.00 pews ttb0A0 (total 80.00) + 4.20..T. • Canada $88.00 • yy Short changed erhaps the most important question asked at last 'zesday's public hearing into Exeter's OPP contract pro- posal- was why the nneeting was sched- uled at 10 o'clock iivthe morning. It is ,hard to say just 'bow many resi- dents would cake anactive inte>lest"in trite.fiuorelof:the4own's- olicing,given :Zl t}ie. whole4ealars to :bei airly !out tend dried. However, .holding a laming .at the : one - dune of day when few :people 1,iwould =be -able ;to -attend doesnlisidly;give a full xipportutrity to hear what comms 'the senora public aright have. The explanation for the time is :that it was more economical*o hold the hear- ing:at the same time:as the inquiry into :the -board .and . chief • was 'to -resume. Yes,.aavting -money does-seem.ao be of ,-prime importance :at .the-provincd these adays;:but if so, why were so many thou- -sands of :dollars wasted :on the _inquiry in' :the first %pia c ? fie- inquiry was a fiance, a'very:-expensive one foriall-par- -ties involved. The Ministry swept into town, with auettagandaao-proveiefore the commission; it:cou1dn't:eccomplish :that task and promptly :declared 'the :adieleissueivicaningbus.-itiicelianittg.- ,1410td-we .get short changed.again when it . comes to the final -pu' i1ic hearing -which:Will seal the.fate ofthe town To - lice force. Contrast Exeter's situation with:that,of A our neighbouring town, St. Marys, which is also considering OPP contract policing. Last 'Tuesday evening, the OPP held a public meeting at which the details of 'the contract proposal were dis- cussed in full. Public reaction to those :details is what will help council decide -whether :or not ,to take the plunge and .disband the town force. O tutted, Si.=triarys'snituation is a little 'different. Their -contract does not-repre- -sent-asavistgs toa"the.tewn. " It will possi- blybe abitmore expensive,'but St.'Mar- ys w.ill_be':able .to -resolve longstanding issuea'-andproblems:changing its po- licing. Exeter's;negotiations were done' behind closed .doors. The police services board, the police !association, .andtown council have:tsllseviewedihe contract landsiven it: a: nod -mf ',approval. The public, nor vsass thane .been given= opporttmity to see•whatis really ion;the tine, -and have only received --brief .summaries :and : im- pressions,onxhe plan=from reluctant offi- cials. This isn't to tray there is anything wrong withahe meal. in factsall-parties im o1ved we quite isatiafied that it is a le agreement. It is just amfote Vie. puhiic.is:.3aeiag asked -to .ego :gag :for the -ride en -this .one, -having to -trust in what is dis&tusd atrprivate .and at 'Spub ic" meetings held whenmost!of the .townis:at work. The 90s - Decade of decline 1 wonder what they'll be call- ing the 1990s in 20 or 30 years from now. The decade between 1890 and 1899 became known as the Gay Nineties or the Naughty Nine - tics, names reflecting the glitter- ing cheerfulness and boisterous liveliness characteristic of thc last ten years in Queen Victor- ia's reign. It certainly was a lus- ty and decadent period- when fashionable dandies danced the tango in the palm courts of ele- gant hotels. -while the lower or- ders enjoyed themselves in the music halls. But the 1890s were also an era of excellence, when Touloouse- L.autrec sketched in the Moulin Rouge, when the glorious style called.Art Nouveau was bom. It was the time of Tolstoy, Ibsen and Oscar Wilde, of Kipling and George Bernard Shaw, of Caru- so, Tachaikovsky and Piccini, to mention just a handful of cul- tural superstars. The world would be a poorer place, indeed, without the im- mense achievements of the 1890s. But what about the Nineteen - nineties? If they continue the way they began, they might be- come known as the Drab Nine- ties or the Decade of Decline. Yes, we have arrived in an age of medium pablum, •of polite dullness, of underachievement. Everything seems to diminish and te: our hopes and ex- �g S standards, our performance, =elf -reliance and our pride. We're no to r conncemed with excellence o quality. In- stead We're ,cutting costs and downsizing programs - from space stations to hospital care. In addition, we're always terri- bly afraid of offending some- body. Instead of rewarding and Peter's Point • Peter Hensel promoting the best, we are com- pelled to examine whether ,we have considered the rights and feelings of our ever-increasing minority groups. Equality has become far more important to us than quality. In our zeal for po- litical correctness, we abandon our search for excellence and bring everything down to the lowest common denominator. Take our education system. for example. It is no longer a priority to propel bright students to the limits of their ability or to produce an elite of brilliant scholars and imaginative anises. No, the very word "elite' is re- garded as undemocratic and un- desirable. Destreaming and epualization are the order of the day. We raise up the bottom and hold down the top, thus creating a mediocre mash in the middle. ' In the arts, we are falling vic- tim to worried accountants and nervous politicians. Uur govern-. mans and institutions are far less coneemed with quality and excellence than with economy and restraint. Our theatres, or- chestras and dance compaAies are judged not by their perfor- mances, but by their ability to hold down costs or "to break even." We discourage our writers by cutting grants and by eliminating programs t;, assist publishers. We encourage illiteracy and ig- norance by taxing books. What has happened to our once thriving culture? It's in de- cline. we blindly accept excuses like the recession, unemploy- ment and rising deficits. But were spending billions on de- fence (against whom or what?), on beer and booze, on junk food and junk entertairunent. Specta- tor sports, action videos, mind- less sitcoms and mind -insulting pulp tabloids a real big, thriving business. Use public funds for 'purchas- ing a sculpture? "Over my dead body!" our eleicted officials cry, and they buf t with pride when they "save the taxpayers' mon- ey." Spend money to rescue a heri- tage building from the wreckers? "Wc can't afford it!" our town fathers and mothers claim. And another architectural or,histori- cal gem bites the dust. Yes, we may balance some budgets in he 1900s, and we may reach the next millennium with our fusegoiaLbody in better health. Can we do it without causing irreparable damage to our cultu- ral body? Hopefully in a genera- tion from now there will be an- other renaissance, or at least a time of nostalgia for excellence and quality. But the nineties are the washout gf.the 20th century. "Men are never so likely to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely. .'%bmas Macauley Published Each Wednesday Momlag at 424 Mein St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S8 by J.W. Eedy Pireacatlons Ltd. Trtlephone 1.13192351331 O.S.T.'I111018110105 perhaps we need a contest Quick, what's your favourite AM what -will luespemin "tentifaiiaCtillege? Despite the ongoing battle by :the college's supporters .and the students taking the government :.tcoourt, I have met few people -who actually believe the prov- ince will be dissuaded from go- ing ahead with their plans to close the institution next spring. While South. Huron is a strong agricultural area, many 1 have spoken to have agreed that thc - glut of -college -openings - in that field just didn't justify keeping all those institutions open. Why Centralia was chosen for the chopping block is anybody's guess? Not enough cabinet min- isters in the area, I suppose. There arc those who say the place is under -used and never reached its .true potential. They argue converting part of the fa- cility into a conference centre was probably never a good idea. Why the government should - have ventured into competition with the hotels and resorts that are already desperate for that kind of business is beyond them, they say. I can sympathize with those ideas, but at the same time 1 un- derstand the contribution that college has made to this area, both agriculturally and economi- cally. With it gone, what will fill that hole? What will become of those buildings, ovate of which arc much too trice to sec go to waste? And so we have the Rumour of the Weck Club, gleefully spreading wonderfully interest- ing ideas for 101 uses for an 50114XY10.0011e.. - It didn't take long for all kinds of people to tell me, in a con- spiratorial tone, that they had heardthe place was slated to be - Hold that thought... By Adrian Harte come a women's prison. When I pointed out the college is on pro- vincially -owned land, and pris- ons arc a federal jurisdiction, I was met with blank stares. Gov- ernment is government, right? Well, it could happen; even if the feds weren't building a wom- en's prison in Kitchener already. Next I heard that Canada Post is considering opening a giant mail sorting facility in Huron Parr wanting to make use of the nearby airport. Okay, so Cana- da Post's a federal Crown Cor- poration, but I can sec some practical use in having a sorting centre up here. It would certain- ly fit right into their plans. For me to mail a letter from Exeter to Hensall, it would have to go from Exeter tb London, be flown up to HuronYark, sorted, flown back to London, and then by truck up to Hensali. This is just punishment for those of us who insist on putting pesky ad- dresses on our envelopes. Those who send out mail addressed "To Occupant: Congratulations, you have won...." cit get thieirs delivered right away. Maybe we're.' not •being:crea- tive enough. Stephen Town- ship's hopes to see the facility become some kind of aircraft training centre seems a little dull and practical. Perhaps we could have some kind of contest: find" the most creative use for Cen- tralia College. The only rule would be that it couldn't involve agriculture: after all, this is a fanning region. How about a training- centre for—CFAS- secret agents? No. . that's federal again. Maybe a re- treat for provincial employees to indulge themselves in touchy- feely hug breaks and seminars on "How to maximize your bud- get through studies and consulta- tion". No, you don't like that? Well, think -up your own, I'm spent. Let me know what you come up with. Three time's the charm: Is any movie worth going to sec three times? I answered that question Friday evening by fi- nally seeing Jurassic Park. Joanne and I promised each oth- er we would sec this film, but were too late to get tickets the first time we tried in Toronto on opening night. We tried again in London, got tickets, but had to get a refund when no seats could be found. Friday, our persis- tence paid off and $8 each was a small price to pay to see human beings eaten alive by computer animation. It couldn't match the intensity of when I read the book last year, but I'm giving it my thumbs up. Canadians a bunch of grown/10m Dear Editor: I heartily agues with Peter Hes- se! on "Celebrating Canada Day." What he didn't remark on is what a bunch of grumblers we Canadians arc. When I was grumbling this spring about having to pay so much income tax, I remembered my dear mother, many years ago when my petards were raising a big family on a low income, say- ing that she wished my dad had earned enough to have to pay in - A come tax. We must learn W count our blessings. Scene people think that one day ib the future Cana- da will become part of the U.S.A. I .� certainly hope our politicians and our citi- zens are smart enough never to let that happen. Let's keep Canada Canadian. Let's teach our children to apprc- 1 elate all the great opporuapitics we have. Let's teach them to be toler- ant of other races, colours and creeds. Let's teach tam to always celebrate Canada Day on July 1. As Kim Campbell, our fust woman prime minister said tuday on Parliament Hill, "What Canadi- ans need today is a uew season of hope" Marguerite Mckobcrts. RR I. Lucian A