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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1997-02-05, Page 17Your- Views Letters to the editor Snowmobile ban productive ,..it is the unconcerned• 5 per cent who may very well ruin it for all in the future... Dear Editor: I would Tike tocomment on the productive nature of the snowmobile ban issue at council on Monday night, It was just that. Very productive: With a com- mon consensus that about 95 per cent of all snow- mobilers arc responsible oiierators, it is the uncona, corned 5 per cent who may very well ruin it for all in -the future. With.a motion to table the ban bylaw., and giving it to a committee 10 review, this will give the oppor- tunity for thc town to receive new input. This may come from other towns or area snowmobile clubs etc. , Such a suggestion, like bylaw handouts tb the snowmohilers while getting gas, parts, meals etc. should he of a great help to curb wrong doing. Signs on the trails entering Exeter are also a possibility. With. the support of our council providing this in- formation material, 1 feel confident that next winter will he more enjoyable and safer for all. , ' Peter R. Armstrong. • Exeter A 'select group' "It's good to know we. have such fine people in our area-" Dear Editor: • An open letter to Rick Hundey, Dr. Jerry Jadd, Dr. Peter Englert, Bruce Shaw, Verla Russell, Jack Riddell, Cam Ivey, Brenda McDonald, Clay Mur- ray. Marlene Moore and Bill Mickle: • Well done and many thanks for all .the effort and hard work which.went into the proposal to the Task Force to save the South Huroii Hospital facility. -Ne •While it's not yet a 'done deal', my wife and I can't help hut have a lot of respect and admiration ' for the work these people have done. You truly arc a "select group" and it's good to know we have such fine people in our area. - Sincerely, - Marg and Norm Butler; Ushorne Twp. A Walk for Memories "We raised over $8,090.00 for the county. Dear Editor - Thank you for helping to raiseawareness'about the Alzheimer Society of Huron County and Alzhei- mer disease. by providing newspaper coveragc,of the fundraising event Walk forMemories held on.; January 25. 1997. ' This was•a most successful event and we are deeply grateful to all who joined in the walk-a-thon and those who §o generously donated by sponsoring a, walker. We raised over $8.000.00 fertile. county.We arc a growing organization in the com- munity and we believe in putting our fundraising dollars hack into the community. . i During the past year the Alzheimer Society of Hut ron County has been husy.Wc have established caregiver support groups in Goderich. Wingham, Exeter and Seaforth. We have developed a Special Steps One -on -One Program that provides.respite for the caregiver and'anenjoyable activity for the indi• - vidual with Alzheimer disease.We also have two • separate community funding programs for families struggling with the cost incurred by Alzheimer dis- easc. Our Society has put together an extensive re • - source library, of videos and printed material which is available on a loan basis to groups and individu` alt. We have held public information meetings and . an all -day workshop for families and professional caregivers. We also donated funds'to the Clinton Adult Day Centre to start a third respite day for the - Alzheimer Day Away Program. We have been able to support financially the work . of medical research directed towards the cause and treatment of this disease. As you have read in the newspaper,,new drugs are providing hope for suffer- • ers of the disease. It is for this reason that we have . increased our contribution to'Alzheimer Research by 100 percent. We could not have engaged in these imgortantac- tivities without the generosity of many folk like • those of you. whq supported us. • Thank you. Fran Hook. President. Alzheimer Society of Huron County A special gift "...now he can't wait until the snow is gone so he can ride around town." Dear Editor: We would like to say a special thanks to all the members of the Hensall Kinsman Club for getting our son.Charlesra three -wheel bike. They came over on February 1, 1997 and presented the bike to ' Charles. He is so excited because now instead of watching everyone else ride a bike he can now join in. Because Charles has spina bifida and wears leg braces, he was not able to ride a bike, but now he can't wait until the snow is gone so he can ride around town. Thank you. From Shane, Connie, Charles, Chad and Zachary A special thanks to my aunt,,Kath'y Lawerance for writing- the Kinsman Club and setting the wheels in motion: Thank you. , Love Charles Rodeo was not only a visitor "...may the weatherman, shine brightly on the weekend of August 8-10, bringing thousands . of visitors to town " Dear Editor: An article appearing in last week's issue regarding a rodeo coming to Exeter this summer is what gen- crated'the idea of writing this note First ,of all, I want it made clear that l am in favor . of such a venture and wish the organizers. the best of hick and d hope it becomes popular. ' As my former boss, the late Bill Batten would de- scribe an event that was starting for the first time or again after an interval. "It's the first annual," and I hope this is the case here. Last week's article indicated. " a similar rodeo vis- ited here 20 years ago." As a reporter at every one of the rodeos held here, 'my answer to that is. "it was a long visit. It lasted. for II years in Exeter." • The Mid -Western Rodeo was organized, owned and operated by local horsemen who were joined on a committee by reps from every service club and or- ganization in town. The idea came from Ron Swartz, Wilmer Presza- tor and Dalton Finkbeiner in the late 1950's; The only result was the purchase of some equipment un- til Len Veri arrived in Exeter and offered part of his property at Lot 14, Concession 4 of Stephen Town= ship for a rodeo facility. • Following a very wet rodeo in 1966, the original horsemen approached town officials to discuss the possibility of holding the next rodeo at thc commu- nity park and fairgrounds' The big advantage of this location, other than be- ing in town, was a covered grandstand. One disad- vantage the baseball diamond and lights would have to be moved. When this became public, the battle began. With the co-operation of everyone involved in- cluding the formation of a close to 20 person com- mittee, it was a busy summer for all, but when La- bour Day rolled around, everything was ready. Even the baseball fans were pleased with their new dia- mond. The new rodeo arena, 300 by 150 feet, with buck- ing and calf -roping chutes and holding pens was completed for $5,066. Morethan 8,000 people at- tended the 1967 rodeo. A lot of the success of many events comes from good publicity and for the Mid -Western Rodeo cred- it must be given to Bill Brady of CFPL Radio who gave oodles of free advertising during his regular morning show. Brady was a personal friend of the late Fred Dar- ling and his family. Each year one morning before the rodeo. Brady would talk with one of the commit-- tee ommit=tee members telling his listeners, why they should spend the weekend in Exeter. Brady appeared in person at most of the rodeos and was a special performer on at least two occa- sions. I remember. one day he was billed to ride Black Diamond, a wild bucking bronco, but Brady showed up riding a mule. A year or two later he was to try riding a wild steer, but instead appeared on the back of a milking cow. The loth anniversary of the rodeo in 1973 was one. of the most successful with more than 10,000 in attendance. Exeter's Mid -Western Rodeo became known as the best and largest rodeo, east of Morris, Manitoba and third on the scale of all of Canada. Also, in last week's article it was said the rodeo closed up in 1977 because of lack of community in- terest. That is not -quite true. By 1917. the old Exeter arena was condemned and the rodeo arena ring, chutes, grandstand and horse barn had to be moved to allow the construction of the new South Huron Community Centre. I know there are many- hundreds of new residents of Exeter and area since the Midwestern Rodeo said goodbye , ,and feel many would like to know about past events. It was the biggest single event to ever attract visitors to Exeter, as many as 10,000 on some weekends. In closing, may the weatherman shine brightly on the weekend of August 8-10, bringing thousands of visitors to town. Thanks for listening Ross Haugh Times -Advocate, ,February 5, 1997 -Page 17 Response to article on Exeter Cemetery It's unfortunate that there are some individuals who think the staff at the cemetery sit in the of- fice ffice waiting to make that sale .... Dear Editor: - I would like to respond:to a couple- of items men- tioned in last week's article on the Exeter Cemetery Board. It's unfortunate that there -arc some individu- als who think the staff at the cemetery sit in the of- fice waiting to make that sale onto take a telephone call. to prepare for a funeral. 1 will admit that over the last 15. years of managing the cemetery. office time has increased due to new government regula- tions, dictating us to keep more records, contract and :certificate preparations, safety regulations etc.. but never sitting thea waiting for that potential sale or service. There arc many aspects to the cemetery and death care service that many don't know or un- derstand and if they would take some lime'to come out to thc cemetery- when the staff are performing - their duties, maybe a new appreciation for cemeter- ies would develop. As Manager of the Exeter Ceme- tery,.l have .greatly enjoyed working and dealing with very competent staff always ready to go above and beyond their job description. The cemetery de- veloped an excellent working relationship with Fu-• neral Homes and other service industry.I have seen _Cemetery Board members gain deep appreciation for the cemetery and how it operates: However, it has become difficult over the last few years to ad- ministrate the cemetery activities for different rea- sons. One reason could be what looks like a power struggle between Town Council and Cemetery Board. Back. in the 1930's, Town Council passed a by-law handing over all authority to the• Board to govern the cemetery. The Board's position has been minimized .over time being confused on. what they should or should not do in regards to administration and operations. it is unfortunate that after so many years of ,being Board members and making deci- sions, bringing the Exeter Cemetery to its present standards, called the Best Maintained Cemetery in Canada by the judges of Bloom Canada 1994, they are going to he asked to become an Advisory Com- mittee. It's ironic in a way because they have been made to feel like an Advisory Committee in the last few years. Government Transfer payments also dictate how operations must downsize. The'Exeter Ccmetcry has always maintained a tight ship department. The an- nual grant the cemetery receives groin the Town re- mained very consistent each year with the exception of 1995. The cemetery generated approximately 75 per cent of it's own operating cost. The Board has been working towards a self sufficient department.. but it takes time. i know operations are going to change and some must change, but before Council decides to imple- ment change to the point of no return, i would like them to come out to the grounds and see why and how the cemetery operates. We have very seldom - seen a council member at the cemetery. • In- closing, my duties as Manager will he done February 15 and thereare a number of reasons why , I am resigning. 1 will miss .working with thc Ceme- tery Board, Lig. and Anne- at the Town Office. the excellent staff and meeting hundreds of people each year. Unfortunately at times it seems more political than a service, operating the cemetery. Respectfully yours. Harry. Knip Cemetery Manager. Fundsl should be for cemetery -"....keep our cemetery one we can all be proud of.." Dear Editor: - . I"feel a need to write this letter on.hehalf of my late husband; in•responsc to "Plans for Elimination of Cemetery Board" in the Times Advocate. on Jan- uary .29: . Tcd was on council for.many yeat't and Chair bf Cemetery'-oard from 1969-1982 and was very proud of our Exeter Cemetery. • 'The discussion"Using, funds held in reserve for the Cemetery }o he used in other parts of town," a concern expressed tiy' Chair of Board 'Andy DeBoer„ . often came up at council meetings in.those years. It was very upsetting to Ted, as it could only mean de- terioration of our Cemetery, one of the hest in Onia-, rio. . . The comments and concerns of the Board "Using reserve cemetery funds for other things" and "Deaf- ing with people tvhen they are in'their most vulnera- ble state" are justified. • "Leave them alone, as requested by Olga Davis" to •do what they have proven they do best •and keep our cemetery one we can all he proud of. Sincerely, Shirley Wrigh: i 1 The -common-cents revolution "1 don't know where the change is going.," • Dear Editor: • ' I wonder where the common -cents arc in Mike Harrass' revalation.-1 don't know where the change is going. I depriciate the fact, that we have to deal with the defecate. 1 realize there are people who have a lot of infection 'for him and he holds a high ' ifosition on the poll. i emit, it must he excreatingly defecult to cut the defecate. I'm sure, his motives are inscrutable. The province needed some sense of derelection.,Socianle programs were too accessive, according to his evapouration. He extirpated, from his imflamation, it was obtuse to•him that he,must - exacerbate the t,roblem. So he obstructed his cabi- nate, to excrete a plan. to lethalize the cuts needed. to rectalfy the situation. Using his own desecration, he pushed,theOminous Bill through, without being disgust. The people were quite indigent- In collusion, I think.that it's our obliteration, to excorcise our rights, to ostracise as a group and ex pend our oppressions.1 don't mean to procreate un • - civil undress. - Mispellingly yours, Terry Janke Stand up and be counted You,loo; non-smokers, stand up and be counted to win your have to fight.. • Dear Editor: In regards to smoke-free public places. we have and continue to speak out.,on second hand smoke.... to help enact by-laws fore 100 per cent smoke-free public places, not only in our 'community' but in all 'communities'. - ' -. - Letter January'31. 1996 to the -following: Premier Mike Harris, Paul Steckle, M.P., Helen Johns, M.P.P., Warden Murray Keyes. County Council Members; Mayor Ben Hoogenboom, Mayor Cam Ivey, Reeves: Murray Keyes. Bill Weber. Pat Down, Cecil Pepper, Dwayne LaPorte and Council. Quote part: Most Canadians - 70 per cent, US in- cluded, choose not to smoke - but it seems that we have no' choice about 'breathing' second-hand smoke! The truth is, we do have a choice - we are taxpayers... and in this society, the 'majority' rules. and the 'vote' for no smoking in public places is 'fa- vored'! Hands down! • Quote, from Dr. 'P. Englert. President Huron County Medical - Society May 17, .1995 issuer "Smokers have a 'right' to poison themselves but they do not have the 'right' to poison.- 'innocent by- standers!" end of quote. - Public approval for smoke-free public places is very high and we. 'expect' that action will he taken in placing a non-smokers by-law in public places, in your constituent! We 'urge' you to stand up and be 'counted'" for what is 'right', 'good', honest' 'just', 'pure', and if there be any 'virtue' (which means general moral excellent, manliness, quality regarded as ',good) 'think' on these 'things'. End of quote. You, too, non-smokers, stand up and be 'counted' - to 'win' you have to 'fight' so•be pan of the solu- tion!' Thank you with sincerity, Ken and Junc Campbell O. , . 424 MAIN ST. EXETER • 2351331 *FAX 2350766 k‘\ek SVIC°\\°S Specific Colours MARKERS 3/990 , A NTiNE 00 •.. _ Sheaffer 1 N K CARTRIDGES Reg. $2. 50 NOW $125 Many colours BRISTOL BOARD 250 sheet DRAFTING PENCILS AND CALLIGRAPHY MARKERS Reg. $.1.39-$1.99 112 PRICE DATED MATERIAL 25" SFr