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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1998-01-14, Page 4Page 4. Times -Advocate, fanuary 14, 1998 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett Business Manager: Don Smith Production Manager: Deb Lord Advertising; Barb Consitt, Chad Eedy Al ws;.Heather Mir. Kate Monk,. Craig.Bradto s. Chantal) Van Raay. Ross Waugh • Production. Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray,. Brenda Hem, Joyce Weber,' laurel Tranioortation: Al •Hodgert front Office & Accounting; Sue Rollings. Carol Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald. Cassie Da Ruth Slaght, Sheila Corbett The Exeter Times -Advocate is a member of a family of Community newspapers providing news, advertising and information leadership CC4 A rd, Barb Robertson Miner D, cspitc claims.from fuel com- •panies that price fixing does not exist we can understand' why many.consu mers find this claim difficult to believe. Industry officiate have.steadfastlyf - stuck to their.story that market condi- . tions.(supply and demand) are the driv- ing force behind the wild price swings we have experienced over: the.years. If this is the case. why would prices eve= rywhere-jump for every long weekend and, then drop again when the weekend is over.? - . Using supply and demand.as an argu- ment seems little more -than an excuse to explain away the puhlic perception - of price gouging by all -the major corpo- rations. Why would.the supply.of-gaso line for any long weekend. he -any dif- ferent from,any - ther time of the year? Certainly the demand side of the • equation is easy I understand because • this a time whet coplc.travel more . than at -other tirncs: It; s a time when consumers arc ripe for the plucking. A hike at the pumj price ofa'fcw cents per litre translates into a dollar or two extra on the average 'fillup. Multi- ' ply this by millions of trips to the . - pumps-to.get an•casyview of bow hun- dreds of millions of dollars',can he add- ed to the bottom lines Of these huge companies. Windsor Irymple, EI)ITORI;\LL Getting hosed at the pumps Two local members of parliament, Paul Steckle, Huron -Bruce and Rose - Marie Ur, Lampton -Kent -Middlesex are. members. of a committee: investigating gas prices and are playing an active role in seeking the views of the puhlic. The Committee met in Petrolia last Wednes- day and moved on to.Goderich Thurs- day,. hearing a variety of opinions on how the fuel industry operates and what reallydrives their pricing. A survey of local gas prices last week showed Exeter had the lowest gas prices in Huron County while Hensall had the highest prices. The general drop in prices recently has some suspicious of the timing. When the puhlic starts to put on the pressure and begins questioning the motives of gaso- line suppliers, a quick drop in prices could he more than .a coincidence. it's time to get to_the bottom of what appears opthesurface to he an industry that has got away with using. glib - spolespeople with simple explanations to cover up using any opportunity they can to squeeze a few extra millions out of the public: — • -_ - Whether or not Steckle and Ur will ' ever he able td bring in'a report making fuel pricing easier to understand is yet to he seen. They could have already bene- fitted consumers in this area just by ask- ' ing the right questions. Your Views • Letters to. the Editor Committee members needed "We welcome concerned individu- als as well as agency representa- tives. " Dear Editor: .. The 'Huron Perth Injury Prevention Committee would like to wash your readers a safe 1:99%• .Wc • urge every mi to -help make satety.happen. In Canada. ntjur) remain: the leading cause ul death among p04)4•.age 44 and under. lnjury kills more people under 19 than all Othcrcausc: added together. In I t)94. the Ontario Traunia Registry recorded the hospital admission rate lur all injurtes.fur - Southwestern Ontario as 83.2 per 1(1.0(81 population. Perth ('ount\ rated higher air88.2 per 10.000 while - Hurn Cott:4 rated .121 per 10.(0). - injuries are•lrequently relerred to as accidents. - • The Word accident carrics'a quality of mystery as if there -is nothing that you can do to pre•\'ent•mjury•. Yet. when most injuries -arc studied. we know. there are Causcs'and explanations and wc,can predict.situ- -ations where' injuries are likeI ;o occur. • In Huron/Perth our four main areas of concern for Prevention -arc nmtor vehiclecrash-occupant injuries, bicycle collisions. falls in seniors and farm injuries. The current committce'is seeking ncw:memhers Ior resource sharmg and/or project planning.' - N)eetings"arc held four times a year. We wcicone concerncd'individuals as well as agency representa• - tives. Past and present committee memhcrs include representatives Iron the farm safety -association. - hospitals. volunteer consumers. ctimmunity based hcalth-agcncics and recrcation. police and fire departments. For further information please contact .myself as chair of the Injury Prevention Coalition at • Huron:County Health Unit. 482-3416 or 1-8(x)=265- •5184. Sincerely yours, , Marguerite Thomas. Chair Hurtrn Perth Injury Prevention Committee c► Publications Mail Registration Number 07511 SUBSCRIPTION _RATES: One year rate for Canada subscribers - $35.00 + GST Two year rate for Canada subscribers - $63.00 + GST QTHER RATES Outside Canada - $102.00 M •,e�AM COMMV •Z 4,i?19 2Slig Save Rs C.0 -9 Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S6 by J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd, Telephone 1-519-235-1331 • Fax: 519-235-0766 emall:taeeedy.com G.S.T. #R105210835 1 IKNEYHALLYSpM1E Nf. ) I got the jump oh,dog tags this year and managed to snag the number one Exeter dog tag fore Lexi. It could be my - imagination. but I think there , may be a difference in her' - attitudc towards life. She seems to be a little more responsible ' , and almost dignified: It's been nearly two vtars ' since J adopted Lexi. I gave dog. ownership serious • consideration: Would i he around home enough?' Would 1 have the time fora dog?: . I spent the first 12 years of my- -- life _with Queenie the border - collie followed Ilya decade with Nic.lc the black lab. This time around, I wanted a combination of the smarts of the border collie and the friendly personality of the black lab. , When 1 saw the poster for a free -to -a -good -home lab/collie puppy. i decided.to check her out. I visited the farm where Lexi and her siblings had a nice . little setup,in.the.harn. Of the three puppies,left in the litter, Leki was the one who toddled over to me. She looked bp at me with her big dark eyes and f was hooked.. There are many puppy stories I could share and probably will in future columns. it has"worked out pretty well and I'm very happy she has the smarts of a ' THE EAGLE HAS LANDED 1lG • Kate's takes By Kate Monk Living with #1 border collie and the, friendliness of a;labrador. -Her herding.instincts are fairly well subdued although she is " definitely happiest -when -her___ flock is together in one spot. She has hecorne a good guard : . dog (wouldn't recommend 'breaking into my house) but is always ready to give her human friends a ffriendly greeting if, there's an opportunity. She gets along well with canines too. As they say On' student report:cards, "she plays well with others.." However, she still can't figure out why cats don't want to play. Lexi also has serious retriever ' instincts. 1 was cleaningup the lawn at the cottage and throwing sticks and branches over the bank and into the bush. This turned out to he a long, long • task as Lexi continually retrieved the sticks'from wherever 1 tossed them. What I hadn't thought of when 1 adopted her was the fact she has the energy of a border collie and a lab combined. Actually, it's more like she's part Tasmanian-shedevil. Labs and . collies'are working breeds and need a lot of exercise to be , happy and not destructive, Lexi is nearly two years old and needs a good run every'tlay to keep her content. An hour : • walk around Exeter on a leash barely takes the edge off. " Some people speculate she -11 • settle'down when. she is two years dld,•some say it may. take until she's three. some say five: One person even said her ' seven-year-old lab/collie still hasn't settled down. • • • In the meantime, I should.he. • 'happy she has so muchenergy. She enjoys walks in the `woods,. skiing, swimming and is always ready to play. At,lier insistence. 1 head out to Morrison Dam ' Conservation Arca after work rather than settling on the ' couch. We both get exercise and enjoy the outdoors. " She has a great time with her other.doggy friends and as they , say on student report cards. she plays'well with others." i -credit Lexi with getting my shoulder "into shape for ball season. In fact, last'spring was the first season I haven't had a sore shoulder at the start of the year. i must admit my neighbor Lucas has developed a pretty' good throwing arm. With his technique. Lexi gracefully catches the hall on the bounce. Am 1 glad I adopted Lexi? You bet. I'd recommend a lab/collie/Tasmanian she -devil to just about~enyone with an active lifestyle, big backyard and a good throwing arm.• A View from Queen's Park Eagleson won't be landing g on his feet now TORONTO -- Alan Eagleson's last words to a politica! reporter. before going. to jail last week were.. for a change, not brash and boastful but of compassion aitd concern for someone else. .. • Although his political career is overshadowed by his later role as hockey agent and organizer. Eagleson was a member of the Ontario legisla- ture from 1963 tui 1967 and later president of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Associa- tion. the patty which ran the province almost unchallenged. As a writer covering the legislature then and now, 1 was w,alking past Eagleson's home re- cently. He had,a 'sold' sign•on it and was load- ing a van. . He invited me in and did not refer to the charges against him of defrauding hockey - players and Lttbatt's, wisely because anyone reading newspapers would have known they were close to being substantiated and therefore found it difficult to listen to any protestations of innocence. Instead, Eagleson praised a realtor for getting By Eric Dowd him. 5E1' million. which he said' was fair for a quick sale. and remarked that "it may not he the hest house. but it has the hest ravine lot in To- ronto" and he planned to live mainly at his coun- try home near Thornbury. . He then asked -- and it was clear this was his main reason for. inviting me in -- if 1 would phone a mutual friend. Arthur Harnett. a former' radio reporter. whom Eagleson had made execu- tive director of the Tory association in the late 1960s and later his junior partner in a company organizing hockey events. Harnett had suffered two heart attacks. and had kidney problems and poor circulation which caused his right leg to be removed. "He is hav- ing awing a hard 'time and 1 know he would appreciate hearing from you," Eagleson said. At the time, Harnett. faced four lesser charges of collaborating with Eagleson in fraud. But he had been trusted as a colleague and respected as news director of Toronto radio station CFRB, and denied the charges indignantly and insisted he wanted to fight them in court. Many who knew both.thought he was so total- ly under Eagleson's spell •he would- go. along with anything Eagleson..a lawyer. suggested, so. it was not difficult to make the call. Then, just before Christmas, the crown withdrew the 'charges against Harnett and •a few.days°later he died.. ' •- " • Showing compassion was.out of character for - Eagleson as an MPP. He was cocky. aggressive and abrasive and a member of a group of noisy younger Tories dubbed the Chicago.Gang who heckled and jeered and tried to drown out Lib- erals and New Democrats having the temerity to criticize government policies. The 'worst of their style showed when - ii the -group -- it was never suggested it was Ea- gleson -- kept interjecting "watermelons" when the first black MPP, Leonard Braithwaite, was speaking and offended blacks and others. Eagleson was noted for using obscene lan- guage and there was a story he punched out someone in a dispute at a tennis court. He was brash in launching a career as a hockey agent while an MPP, because there was a trend starting for MPPs to regard their work as full- time Because he' went chasing hockey deals, Ea- gleson- lost his seat in Lakeshore riding, but a year later he had the'nerve to run for Tory pres• - ident, claiming the party had to, have harder - working candidates•and organize better and get rid of its "stodgy" image.. As president he -spent much of his time in -contrived and insincere attacks on the NDP,. which he said had started a new style of con- frontationist politics by infiltrating tenants' and other community groups,• After. William Davis became premier in 1971 he eased Eagleson out in favour. of a party pres- ident he could count on• to express his own views. But Eagleson found a way of hanging on by holding his annual premiers' receptions at which his clients and friends could chat to their profit with the •Tory premier and cabinet: The event became the most sought-after ticket in town and he managed to continue it even after the Liberals tttrffd out the Tories in 1985. Eagleson always found a way of landing on his feet -- until now.