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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-12-29, Page 4Poe 4 Times -Advocate, December 29,1993 '11.000111111r: atm Beckett ': Adrian IMIONSIMitallialler: Don Smith `Naaanaseaer: Deb Lord Mail Registration Number 0386 affirafingN RATES' 4L ODA 'Ntrit40 miss (85 km.) addramed 8a+11aradrMMiNkr addresses $30.00 plus $2.10 Q.S.T. CCM. 118111tife aldlae48S tan.) or any letter carrier address 4�e181111 rs *70.00 (total 80.00) + 4.20 Q.S.T. 'mardalpai era *09.00 (inoledes $88.40 postoltn) Li 4 SMEWEEMEM Not one cent he mere suggestion that edu- cation taxes might have to rise 15-19 percent in Huron County should be _ greeted with uncontrollable laughter. Fortunately, the Huron Board ofEdu- cation realizes that the prospect of a tax increase is laughable. There is no more money. There is no way *aboard can filch another two or three million dollars out of the county's economy. It doesn't matter if the Social Contract is 10 blame, or if provincial fu ndiig cut- backs are at fault, oriffthewhimate cause is the federal :government's seduc- tion in provincial transfer payments. It doesn't matterat all. There is no more money in Huron County; in fact, there's less. The Fair 'Tax Commission has pro- posed removing education .taxes from the :mill rate:adtogether. That may be seen as.a step in the sight direction by some, or as a sinisterznove by the prov- ince 10 seize complete financial power from'the local boards: no taxation,mo needfor-representation. That mayll be debated at a later date, right now the Huron Board is still a government in its own right, and will have to make the hard decisions they were elected to toSake. • • inion "Men are never so likeiy to settle a question rightly as when they discuss It freely." ... Thomas Macauley Published Each Wednesday bler,N18 at 424 Mien Bt„ Exeter, OMa to, NOM iso by J.W. Ee�dy PMN_.lNas T.hoptsa.1-519-2354.331 a.f.T. *10St1Gaf5 Anything not directly related to the ed- ucation of students in the classroom will - have to be regarded as a luxury. Provin- cial ministry guidelines and policy re- quirements may have to be disregarded. If Queen's Park is picking up less of the tab, they should have less right to com- plain. This is a huge challenge for the board tomeet in the New Year, but one they simply must meet. We all want the best education possible for our children, but if we can't afford the very best we may have to do the best we can within our means: We also probably fail to give enough credit to the students them- selves. They are surprisingly resilient. Schools do not have to resemble theme parks to be capable of inspiring young minds. Credit must also be given to the teach- ers to know how to make do with less. World class education doesn't necessari- ly require world class spending. These are problems facing every board across this province, tent the Huron trus- tees must seatigetbeyxonsoigtass the buck to Queen's Park once again. They have to put education, and its related costs, back on track right here at home. Right now. A.D.H. A Christmas thank you "We thank the people and busi- nesses of the Exeter area for re- sponding to our special appeal" Dear Editor: The Huron County Christmas Bureau and the Children's Aid Society wishes to thank all the indi- viduals, businesses and organizations who helped to provide a special Christmas for families and chil- dren in need. The Exeter Christmas Bureau, at the Christian Re- formed Church, was staffed by caring volunteers who devoted many hours to assist parents in select- ing gifts of clothing and s for their children. Bu- reau managers Sadie Post and Henny Portinga and their staff ensured that over 240 children had the right gifts under their tree this year. We thank them for their efforts. We thank the people and businesses bf the Exeter area for responding to our special appeal for toys for the children. In this year of financial restraint for many, your generosity was truly appreciated. The goal of the Children's Aid Society and the Huron County Christmas Bureau is to provide an improved life for children in our county. With your continued support we can be successful. Sincerely, Thomas F. Knight Executive Director Children's Aid Society of Huron County i. • > CCrr,, ....:....:..:.i ....:... :��.::: is n. Psst, need a kidney? In some ways it's no laughing matter, but then again you have to smile. There's a delightful little story going around - perhaps you've heard it- that a local man had a kidney stolen while shopping in Port Huron. Severs version: can be heard, but the gist of it that he and his wife are doing some cross-border shopping, split up in a mall to meet again ! later. When the husband doesn't appear, the wife contacts police. He is found later, dazed, appar- ently having undergone surgery to remove a kidney. Not one word of it, of course, is true. Now that people are beginning to realize the fellow is alive and well, with both kidneys, the sto- ry is changing again. It did hap- pen, but to a guy with the same last name a couple of months ago. No, it happened over a year ago in Buffalo. What we have here is what so- ciologists are calling a "modem myth". These stories, usually outrageously dramatic, surface from time to time and are rapid- ly passed around. A common factor is they always happen to someone just down the road, across the city, a friend of a friend. There was a story going around Manitoba this summer about a farmer who got his brand new tractor stuck in his rain -sodden fields. When he used a four-wheel drive pickup to try and tow it out, it too got stuck, so he went back to the bam and committed suicide. CBC radio put the guy on the air, very much alive. Yes, he had a new tractor, two of them, and his brother got a tractor stuck that summer, but a check of police records indicated no one committed suicide under those circumstances anywhere. The reason the story was passed on so well, said experts, was because the fanning com- munity took it to heart to ex- press the general frustration over the wet weather. My guess is our story likely expresses hidden fears about American crime, their cutthroat medical system, and our mis- trust of cross-border shopping. We want to believe it could be true. I only hope for the sake of the fellow and his family, every- one stops this story dead. It can't be true, naturally. Anyone so callous to steal hu- man organs would simply take all they could sell and dump the body, leaving no witnesses. You may have heard other modem myths over the years. I remember a few: the one about someone bringing a little dog back from Mexico to find out it's a large rat; the one where the guy wakes up in a motel mom to find "Welcome to the world of AIDS" written in red lipstick on the mirror, the one about the woman who sucks up a swarm of bees with a vacuum. Even as a write this, I know there will be someone reading it who will say "no, it did happen, to a guy my cousin's friend knows..." Sure, and I've got a kidney to sell you. By Pe 1 used to buy shoes the way Elizabeth buys toilet paper. Not because of the urgent need, but because the price was right, Sale! That's the word I was looking for, not quality. I used to look for shoes that seemed to fit me, felt reasonably comfortable and cost a mere nineteen -ninety-five. Then I'd buy two pairs. But times and feet change. The longer I live, the faster time goes by. And as I grew older, I noticed that my feet were getting more de- manding. Maybe I was wearing them down. Maybe they were sagging. At any rate, then were no longer happy when I stuck them in to any old shoes. I recently met a chiropodist and struck up a casual conversation with him. Nothing profes- sional, nothing that he could bill me for. So nat- urally I tried to get as much information from him as I could. For those who are not quite familiar with the term (I had never heard the word before last month): chiropody is "The care and treatment of the human foot in health and disease`." 4 Chiropodists are people who won't look you m the eye when they're introduce:Re you. They look at the shoes you're weatcigg d judge you accordingly. "Get rid of them!" he told me. "Get rid of these shoes?" I asked in surprise. "Get rid of all your shoes". Elizabeth, who was also present, wholeheartedly agreed with him. So I lit a bonfire in the backyard and burned everything except my wedding shoes, for which I had paid at least $30 not that many years ago. Elizabeth wanted me to bum them, too, but I pointed out that I needed something to go shopping in. When Duncan and Alexander heard that I was going to buy comfortable shoes, they of- fered their help. They are running shoe experts. They wanted to go shoe -shopping with Dad. Advise the old man who doesn't know a Reeb- ok Energy Return System from a "Michael Jor- dan Air. So the three of us went to an Armstrong and Times and feet change Richardson store, where I asked for a pair of comfortable walking shoes. The young clerk looked at my black oxfords, gasped, and disap- peared. When he came back he was holding a video camera on his shoulder. "I have never seen a pair of those actually being wom," he explained. , He was going to measure my feet. •"I know my size", I said, "I'll need a ten -and -a -half." . Then me made me try on a pair of walking shoes that felt comfortable enough. As usual, I checked the box first for the price. I was speechless and felt a little faint. To Duncan's and Alexander's embarrassment I put my wed- ding shoes back on * out of the store. I was too stunned 1 had no idea that they made shoes that could cost so much. I told the boys that I paid less for my first car. "Dad, you don't have to pay that much for comfortable shoes," Duncan said, taking my hand. I was glad he was there. The boys took me to a sporting goods store. They told the clerk what I needed. I didn't understand any of the technical bafflegab. The clerk tried and failed to explain to me the difference between air and gel cushions. I tried on several pair of runners. They were all OK I was too weary now to offer an opin- ion. Theiboys decided for me.,I just let things happen atvund me. Still in a daze, I pulled out a credit card. When I signed, I realized the bill was only for $80 plus OST. Only a quarter of wIa(t4J�d for my first car. is how my feet became the proud tatiYod owners of a state-of-the-art pair of Nike Air running shoes, made in Korea. Tomorrow 171 go back and buy another three pairs exactly like these. And then, hopefully, I may never have to go shoe -shopping again in my life. If I show up at your formal party, wearing a tuxedo and white, purple, dayglow-green and yellow running shoes, don't take offence! They're all I've got. Elizabeth has wrapped my beautiful black wedding oxfords in tissue paper and stashed them in the attic, next to the old spinning wheel.