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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1997-04-30, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, April 30, 1997 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett Business Manager: Don Smith Production Manager: Deb Lord Advertising; Bart) Consltt, Chad Eedy News; Heather Mir, Chris Skalkos, Ross Haugh, Brenda Burke Production; Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Brenda Hern, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner Transportation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgert Front Office & Accounting; Elaine Pinder, Sue Rollings, Ruth Siaght Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple The Exeter Times Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers providing news, advertising and information leadership I21)I'I'()IZI:t14S Mickle stepping down Bill Mickle will not seek re- election. Exeter's reeve is stepping down after serving 17 years on council, 15 as Exeter's representative to Huron County Council. Certainly he will look back on those years running back and forth to Goderich as an honor, but there are times when he, no doubt, consid- ered it a sentence. As we look at Bill Mickle's career, we see him often it the midst of contro- versy, where he thrived and came into his element. He took on the County, of- ten alone. He was able to see beyond the nonsense and the petty small town/ rural politics that really do belong to another era. He often says that he was elected by the people of Exeter to rep- resent their views, and if that means he's at odds with others at County Council, so be it. As well, he presented and still presents -a perspective of fair - play. Although his manner may, at times, be abrasive, he nonetheless speaks of fairness and what is right. Mickle's position as a member of Ex- eter Council has frequently centred on his role of `watcher of the purse - strings'. He prides himself in keeping informed on all matters pertaining to spending and the budget. He always does his home -work and is always pre- pared to speak on any matter, much to the annoyance of others who are often not as prepared or at least not as ready for his questions. "This is a great town," he has often said, "Let's not ruin it by politics." He has never been afraid of taking a stand, whether it be for the restoration of the Old Town Hall, the Town's relation- ship with the County (the Planning de- partment, in particular) or now amalga- mation. The Reeve may not have always been `right', but his honesty and sense of fairness were never questioned. Mickle came into his own, not just in Exeter and Huron County. Through real effort and commitment, he was able to convince others that he could handle the demands of leading the small urban mu- nicipalities of this province and soon af- ter, all the cities, towns, villag- es,townships and counties of Ontario when he became President of the Asso- ciation of Municipalities of Ontario. Again he was heavily involved negotiat- ing with first one and then another pro- vincial government. At all levels of his activities, Bill Mickle is respected for his candor, his honesty and his doggedness. If he de- cides to maintain his position (and don't forget, he is a politician), he will be missed by both his colleagues and us, his constituents. By Bruce Shaw Your Views Letters to the editor Election waste of time and money? Why should such an important event be left to the political whim of any single politician Dear Editor: Docs anybody know why we are having an elec- tion?The'Liberals were elected in 1993 for a 5 year term. Why after only- 3 1/2 years, are they putting the country through the totally unnecessary expense of an election so soon? Are the voters demanding it? Is there some political crisis that demands it? Think of the many millions of hard earned tax dol- lars we will waste paying for something we don't yet need, or want? Can't the government think of more important things we could spend the money on right now? Health care or education for exam- ple? Why should such an important event be left to the political whim of any single politician, or political party? Federal elections should be held on a fixed schedule, just as they are at the municipal level. This would prevent the party in power from manipu- lating the process to suit their own political agenda. It would also minimize the expense, which would benefit taxpayers, rather than self-serving politi- cians. The voters in Ontario destroyed the Peterson Lib- erals just a few years ago, for calling an unneces- sary election. Will they do the same for the Chrctien Liberals this time? Yours truly, W.H. Metcalfe RR 2 Grand Bend A View From Queen's Park By Eric Dowd TORONTO -- Some forthright members of Premier Mike Harris's back bench have told him what he needs to hear -- that he is getting poor advice. Progressive Conservative MPPs Gary Carr, William Murdoch and Toni Skarica com- plained that Harris. does not listen to his caucus, but accepts guidance from unelected advisers with plenty of college degrees but no practical experience of how to get elected. Harris earlier fired the three MPPs from jobs as parliamentary assistants to ministers, so there cottld be a temptation to dismiss them as malcontents, and it is common for backbench- ers in all governments to feel to some degree left out o\f decision-making. But much of what the dissident Tories say rings true. Farris is surrounded by mostly young advi rs steeped in right-wing philoso- phies who probably could recite by heart every word `Villiam Buckley ever wrote.They first exposed themselves as having problems putting theories into practice when they drafted Harris'ti* notorious omnibus bill, containing more impor- tant measures than most governments introduce in an entire session, including assuming new powers to close hospitals and merge municipal- ities and allow many new fees and taxes, and demanded that it be made law in only two weeks. Tory backbenchers had never been given a chance to scrutinize the bill and even some ministers were so uninformed they could not explain it, and Harris finally had to agree to an extra month of debate and for the first time ' looked inept. A lot of his embarrassment could have been avoided if the Tories had had the bill screened by someone with experience of what opposition parties will accept and less motivated by rush. The dissident Tories cited the more recent ex- ample of Hams and his theorists blithely an- nouncing plans to amalgamate urban areas in- cluding Metropolitan Toronto and Hamilton, and force municipalities generally to pay for more programs, with no conception of the fur- Publications Mail Registration Number 0386 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One year rate for Ontario subscribers - 838.00 + OST Two year rate for Ontario subscribers - 863.00 + OST CANADIAN ADDRESSES OUTSIDE ONTARIO One year subscription - $63.00 + GST Two year subscription - $119.00 + OST OTHER RATES Outside Canada - $102.00 Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St, Exeter, Ontario, NOM 156 by J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Telephone 1-519235.1331 • Fax: 519-235.0766 e-mail address: trmss.atrocateeeedy.com O.s.T..R105210835 Simple Cruelties Brenda Burke Stitching up a storm At fny first yard sale of the season, I tried to convince someone the shirt 1 had my eye • on wasn't worth as much as he wanted, due to a tiny rip in the sleeve. "Oh, you can just stitch that up," he said. "I don't stitch," i told him. It's true, sewing isn't my thing. I made a pair of safari fleece shorts once and sewed the• legs - together. In high school i made a Western skirt look like frills stapled to cardboard and there's some animal -print garment in • my closet that lives in a time warp of criss-crossed snaps and zippers. I also have yards of fabric sitting around for projects I can't seem to get started. I did at some point take a great interest in sewing and demanded a basic machine for Christmas one year. That same machine sits around and gathers dust, waiting for the day it will be labeled a useful household item. I guess I find the art of sewing intimidating because it seems to take a lot of time and skill unless you stick to something really basic,. in which case people often ask, "Did you make that yourself?" I love fashion but it's the overall putting together -of it that inspires me, not hems, fancy stitches or tailored fits. When -I'm forced to sew a few hens, I do it painstakingly, in a crooked way -and using lots of guesswork. So what if one leg turns out shorter than the other. Therc are some really good sewers around who have been perfecting the craft for so long, all it takes is a glance at a pattern and away their machines hum, producing ready-to-wear garments within hours. Yet others say these days it's cheaper and less time-consuming to just buy clothes. But the appealing thing about being able to sew well is that you get to create truly original • items, stuff maybe nobody in the world can reproduce, at least not exactly. But what if your Most frequently used sewing tool is a stitch ripper? Do you just keep trying and hope practice makes improvement or do you load up all that fabric, thread and bobbin stuff and cart -it away to someone who will appreciate it? • I remember having to memorize parts of the sewing machine in a high school family studies class. All these little twists and turns with the thread, getting the tension just right and finally putting a fuzzy end through a tiny needle at the very bottom of the machine. "Watch your fingers," the teacher would warn as we put, those foot pedals to the metal and buzzed our way through projects made from identical patterns. Some of our projects even stayed together long enough to wear them in our own high school fashion show. The teacher was proud of us in our raggedy, flounced skirts. We were not and couldn't wait to neatly fold each skirt, wrap it in a plastic bag and store it away somewhere while we went shopping for jeans. Backbenchers complain ors they would create. Harris is now having to revise his download- ing on municipalities, partly because he even found he could not do it constitutionally, and hold off merging in Hamilton and is still push- ing amalgamation in Toronto only because re- treat would lose him too much face. Mean- while, he has angered many, including some Tories, and suffered humiliation and a Targe drop in polls for no political gain. Skarica charged that most of the unelected advisers to Harris could never get elected, which may seem extreme, but backroom gurus often have lacked the qualities that get people voted to office. Longtime adviser to Tory gov- ernments Dalton Camp and Pierre Trudeau's chief aide, Jim Coutts, were among the more spectacular failures. Skarica went further and suggested that be- cause Harris and his aides run everything most ministers have no real say in government, and Carr claimed even that Han -is and his advisers deliberately named to cabinet MPPs with no experience in the legislature so they could more easily control them. Nearly half the MPPs Harris put in his first cabinet had never sat in the legislature, and some were conspicuously out of depth, includ- ing David Tsubouchi, so ill-informed in com- munity and social services that he was moved, and Al Leach, who as.municipal affairs minis- ter asked opponents not to question him about legislation until he got to know it better. The rebel MPPs also shed new light on how Harris reacts to advice from colleagues. Skarica said when he told Harris in caucus that his plan to amalgamate Hamilton was not well thought out, the premier became angry and red-faced and retorted that the Tories could win his riding with or without him. Another MPP tried to defend him and Harris yelled that he was "stupid, stupid" and sent a chill through caucus. Tory MPPs pick up useful soundings in their ridings. If Harris deters them from mentioning them, he will miss information that is more val- uable than some of the theories he hears now.