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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1997-01-08, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, January 8, 1997 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett Business Manager: Don Smith Production Manager: Deb Lord Advertising; Barb Consitt, Chad Eedy News; Heather Mir, Chris Skalkos, Ross Haugh, Brenda Burke Production; Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson • Brenda Hern, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner Traj soortation; Al Flynn, Al Hodgert Front Office & Accounting; Elaine Pinder, Sue Rollings, Ruth Slaght Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple The Exeter Times Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers %" commwoproviding news, advertising and information leadership • • pinion CCPV A Publications Mall Registration Number 0386 fUlUICRIPTION RATES; One year rate for Ontario subscribers - 835.00 + OST Two year rate for Ontario subscribers 863.00 + OST CANADIAN ADDRESSES OUTSIDE ONTARIO One year subscription - 883.00 + OST Two year subscription - 8118.00 + QST OTHER RATES Outside Canada - $102.00 Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1se by J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Telephone 1-519-235-1331 • Fax: 519-235-0786 .mall address: trmes.advocat.S..dy.com Q.S.T. #81052101135 Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow c hristmas Day 1996 dawned with dark clouds looming on the hori- zon. No doubt about it, snow was in the air - and on the ground and all over the roads. Those who could, cancelled travel' plans. Those who had to go somewhere kept an eye on the sky while loading gifts and survival gear into the trunk - the handy "call the police!" sign, a blanket or two, a bag of kitty litter or sand, a first aid kit including candle and matches, and a couple of candy bars. And then came a sight as welcome as Santa and the reindeer - that flashing blue light that has come to spell safety on our highways. The trip may not be fast, but once you get behind one of those big sanders, you know you'll get to where you're going. Most people did get to where they were headed on Christmas. Snow storm or not, radio bulletins throughout the day let people know there were no ma- jor problems on the roads, thanks to the plows and sanders being out. A cynic might say that the overtime cheque will more than make up for eating Christ- mas dinner from a Thermos jug in the cab of a sander. But no one who was on the road - that clear, safe highway - on Christmas Day is a cynic. Municipalities across the area are fac- ing another round of provincial funding cuts, Some got off relatively light; some got hit hard. But everyone took a hit. Towns, townships and counties will be looking for places to save money. There will be user fees for services everyone has always taken for granted, things that are already paid for through taxes, or so we thought. There will be fewer programs and services offered. Service clubs will be pushed to the lim- it to make up some of it. Surplus prop- erty will be sold, reserve funds will be tapped, and every expense will be ex- amined with an eagle eye. There will be fewer people doing the municipality's work, as full time staff positions become part time, and part time positions get eliminated. More mu- nicipal work will be ione be short term contract. Jobs traditionally done by sum- mer students will simply not get done. But most municipalities will be look- ing at more than the annual lawn cutting contract in the search for savings. Those of us who spend a lot of time on the highways and byways of this prov- ince have a fervent New Year's prayer that wisdom will prevail, and road work will continue to be done promptly, be it sanding and plowing, filling in potholes, rebuilding bridges and keeping our high- ways in good repair. Our growing economy is based on mo- bility - these days, workers are rarely employed in the community where they live and must have efficient roads. "Just in time" delivery systems at factories de- pend on good road transportation. A healthy retail sector demands fast and easy transportation routes. Tourism, a growing industry in this area, requires good roads. Financing a zero per cent tax increase by slicing the road maintenance budget is a case of false economy if there ever was one. Snow removal and road maintenance don't come cheap. No one envies our municipal, county and provincial offi- cials as they face the unpleasant task of deciding where to find savings in bud- gets already cut to the bone. But our leaders must consider the welcome sight of those flashing blue lights on Christ- mas Day before they cut to deeply into plowing and sanding. Rather than look- ing on road maintenance as an expense, one hopes our leaders look at it as an in- vestment. Saugeen City News Brenda Burke Your Views Letters to the editor Canadian flag stolen The pole is empty - but a new flag will soon appear... Dear Editor: Somebody stole my flag to the one who stole my flag. Please don't treat it like a rag, I watch it daily waving on its pole, It brought happiness to my soul. Now the pole Is standing hare - My flag it is no longer there, It told me of a country free, A country that has been good to me Where one can be what one chooses to be, The pole is empty - but a new flag will soon ap- pear And 1 hope it will stay there. So to whoever stole my flag, Please don't treat it like a rag. A' q Andy DeBoer, Exeter, Ontario AView From Queen's Par: TORONTO -- Respect for the office of Onta- rio's first citizen, the lieutenant governor, is be- ing steadily eroded, much like the monarchy from which it springs. This diminution arises not just from the ap- pointment of Hilary Weston as lieutenant gov- ernor, although it certainly speeds the decline. Weston has minimal qualities to be consid- ered first citizen in official precedence, which goes along with being lieutenant governor and the Queen's representative. She is married to a multimillionaire, Galen Weston, noted for being on the list of world's best -dressed women and spends part of her time fund-raising for good causes. She also has a job as deputy chairman of a company in her husband's conglomerate, which she says is fulltime, and homes in the United States and Britain where she spends time as hostess to such as' Prince Charles. There must be thousands of women in Onta- rio who devote much more of their lives to By Eric DowdA, helping good causes and would be more worthy of recognition. Efforts to decipher why Prime Minister Jean Chretien chose her usually run to Chretien golf- ing with the Westons and Galen being godfa- ther to a Chretien grandchild. Chretien, while posing as a little guy from the poor side of the tracks, is a social climber of Himalayan proportions, has personal ties to some of Canada's wealthiest and may hope they will remember him with lucrative directorships when he retires from politics, like a far-sighted Progressive Conservative predecessor, Brian Mulroney. These are poor reasons for appointing a lieu- tenant governor, but criticisms so far have been almost non-existent, mainly because most peo- ple are polite and recognize Weston is probably a nice person who did not ask for the job and Will host the never-ending receptions with cheer and grace. But criticism can be made of the process that Your head throbs, your throat hurts, you've got a nagging cough, maybe a fever and drippy nose and you ache all over. Welcome to the club. Lots of us are feeling it these days, thanks to an influenza bug that swept through schools and workplaces just before Christmas. Once the flu grabs hold, it spreads like wildfire and can hang around an area for up to 12 weeks. Food, sleep and repetitive washing of the hands is supposed to help prevent the dreaded disease. If it's too late to avoid catching it, the health unit recommends drinking loads of water, limiting coughing and sneezing around others, taking it easy and STAYING HOME. Easier said than done when you have a job to do, a family to look after and general post -holiday catching up to look forward to. Although lots of kids stayed Got the flu? home from school when the ifu outbreak hit the area, how many of them insisted on visiting friends down the street after school hours? And now many employees returned fo work, telling their co-workers, "Don't worry, I won't breathe on you"? When all is said and done, even though we're praying for a bit of rest after Christmas and all that rushing around, it's not that easy to just hang up your coat and sit tight until the bug passes. Besides, you do have to enter the public arena at some point to acquire medication for your condition, milk for breakfast or rental movies to get you through. Think the weather has anything to do with it? Although illness is caused by germs, not chilly air, many insist they aren't allowed to even sniff winter air when they're `coming down with something.' To tell you the truth, when I'm sick and tired and cooped up on the couch watching reruns of hokey afternoon television programs, the thought of getting some fresh air during a brisk winter night gets me motivated. A good case of winteitime flu often brings on `cabin fever,' that feeling of suffocating in overheated, stale indoor air while you mope around, barely able to move alimb, wondering what you're able to eat next, trying to keep your eyes open and answering the phone as if it's permanently 6 ►.m. The up -side to getting the flu after Chi 'sum. h )tidays is you're not missing much. During th. first few sluggish weeks of January, activities are generally halted, school is just getting going again and work slows down to a slumbering crawl for many. (Except for those playing the catch-up game.) So it you're still at home with the flu, look on the bright side. You should be getting your income tax return forms any day now. Appointment of Lieutenant Governor. repeatedly elevates to the prestigious post peo- ple who cannot be seen unreservedly to deserve it. Hal Jackman, whom Weston succeeds, was made lieutenant -governor by Mulroney because he is a wealthy Tory who donated handsomely to the party and collected fiends for it. Jack - man's term in office was characterized particu- larly by his speaking and writing copiously in defence of the monarchy as an example to oth- ers. This would have passed straight over the heads of most Ontarians, who see it as the world's most notorious example of marriage breakups, infidelity, sexual indiscretions, self- indulgence and even in the case of the Queen, the least to blame, inability to instil family val- ues. Jackman also continued to run much of his business interests while in office, breaking an unwritten rule of the job, but gave generously to charities, although admittedly he has a lot to give. Lincoln Alexander, before him, was picked by the Tories because he was an out -of -work former Tory minister and black, and the latter is a good enough reason because it recognized the black community and enabled him to be a role model for it. But after Alexander left, he joined one of the many firms of consultants set up to lobby gov- ernment and cash in on friendships with Mul- roney. It is hardly a worthy role to meet gov- ernment leaders as Ontario's first citizen pne day and put the bite on them for favors the next. - John Aird, lieutenant governor before Alex- ander, was appointed by Liberals as a reward for raising funds for their party. The system would have more respect if it chose those who put their hearts into working hard for the public good -- even if they did not raise money for po- litical parties or golf with the prime minister.