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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1999-01-06, Page 7Wednesday, Janua r 6, 1999 Mow TimaloAdisailla I 0 YEARS AGO January 4, 1989 McGillivray Township, reeve Charles Corbett has►.been named the warden of Middlesex County for 1989. The 209 employees of General Coach in Hensall are locked out after turning down the latest contract offer by the company. 20 YEARS AGO January 4, 1979 - For the second consecutive year, Mary Ford, the caretaker at the Exeter Post Office has won the Building Excellence award in category 1. The award was presented by district property manager Ed Lewicki. The councils of the village of Lucan and the township of Biddulph will be meeting in a joint session in the near future. The suggestion by councillor Norm Steeper was supported by reeve -Ivan Hearn who said, " There certainly is some merit in such a meeting. County planning is a big thing in the near future. Biddulph and us have both said for about four years that we could get together without too much hardship." Bill Smits of Exeter is retiring as an active soc- cer player at the age of 54..A native of the Netherlands, he has played the. last 10 seasons with the Exeter Centennials. 35 YEARS AGO January 6, 1964 Exeter mayor Cy Simmons created an uproar when he recommended coun- cil salaries be reduced because a works superin- tendent had been hired to undertake -some of the work previously handled by council members. The recommendation wasn't followed, although` Simmons said he would turn back $300 of his $550 annual salary. A descendent of Colonel James Hodgins, first reeve of Biddulph township, has .taken over the reins of the township as , reeve. He is Wilson Hodgins, who defeated James Ryan in a two-way fight for the reeve's positifin. Several roofs in the area -collapsed under the weight of the 50 inches of snow which fell in December. Miss Greta Harness retired -after serving nearly 39 years at the local Bank of Montreal' branch. Bill Wright and Lana Keller were named King and Queen at. the Exeter Teen Town dance. Gordon Vincent shot a wolf in the Grand Bend area during a jack rabbit drive last yveek. 4S YEARS AGO January 5, 1953 - Opening of the new Exeter Farm Equipment building owned by R.D. Jermyn coincides with the tenth anniversary of the build- ing of the firm. 5O YEARS AGO January 5, 1949 - Alf Andrus of Traquair's Hardware won a new Studebaker car New Year's Eve in a draw sponsored by the Exeter Legion. So far the snow plow for clearing the streets of Exeter has been called into service only once this season. Provincial Constable John Ferguson and Exeter police chief John Norry had a lively time New Year's day when they attempted to arrest two men from Ailsa Craig. They were placed in the local lock-up and Constable Helmer Snell escort- ed them to Goderich. Miss Anna Brock, president of the local Junior Institute is attending the provincial convention of Junior Farmers at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto. She will take part in a panel discussion. 75 YEARS AGO January 4, 1924 - Mr. John Jacob and wife left this week for Clinton where they take charge of the Huron County Home. Nominations were held in Exeter Monday and a long list of candidates was placed in nomina- tion for the different officers. They are: for reeve, F.A. Ellerington, B.M. Francis, W.D. Sanders and C.B. SneII; for councillors, Eli Coultis, Joseph Davis, William J. Gillespie, C.F. Hooper and J.M. Southcott; for Board of Education, W.H. Dearing, Jesse Elston, A.E. Fuke, J.H. Grieve, J.S. Harvey and Thomas Pryde. The old council. in Usborne Township was returned by acclamation. They are: Reeve William Coates and Councillors James Ballantyne, Fred Stewart, Wellington Skinner and John Hannah. ROSS HWGH GAO( et ME Opinion&porwn Children playing and snowmobiles do not mix Dear Editor: The new bridge in Elliott Park has created a major problem which should never have hap- pened to this town. Too many snowmobiles have been welcomed into Exeter by our Council with no regard for the destruction of private property, town property and roads. A snowmobile trail was made a few feet from our home, without a hearing or notice and this has creat a playground for all snowmobilers. Many o em were driving over our private prop- erty. On the afternoon of January 1, 81 snowmo- biles speeded over our newly planted grass, shrubs and rock garden at 50-60 m.p.h. - too fast for us to catch and identify. This continued until 2. a.m. the next morning. The noise is very unwel- come too. The snowmobiles are also speeding around in Elliott Park where many children are sledding and snowboarding. We believe .that children play- ing and snowmobiles do not mix. It's not safe for children to play outside after seeing what we have seen happen in this area. We -have a full view of all of Elliott Park and area. Please, if you have snowmobiles annoying you, call the Town Council and complain. If you wish to sign a petition to ban, please call me. Ross BALLANTYNE, 88 McConnell SL, Exeter The Exeter Times Advocate surveyed prominent members in our community asking for their fore- cast of 1999. Will it be a year of development, change or chanllengesZOr will it be a year of cut- backs, hard decisions or hard work? ORGANIZATION Bruce Smith, MPP Middlesex "99 WILL BE A YEAR OF: • Opportunities and challenges "WHY?: There will be continued job growth in the private sector at the rate of 2.4 per cent by the end of 1999. With the new secondary school curriculum and program beginning with Grade 9 in 1999, our students will be able to make clear career choices which will guide them into the millennium. In preparation for the millennium, we are sup- porting hospitals in their ongoing efforts to improve patient care services, we are creating a workforce ready to face the 21st century, and we are ensuring economic growth. THE COMING YEAR'S CHALLENGES AND HOW TO MEET THEM? • Taking the necessary steps to continue to build a health care system we can depend on for years to come. •We are ensuring that education resources go back into the classroom where our children will benefit the most. •We are assisting more people to gain skills, meet potential employers, find employment, and' win back their self-esteem through Ontario Jobs, More than 357,000 people have left welfare since this government was elected in 1995. •We must endeavour to provide opportunities to create new jobs, protect existing jobs, and increase take home pay by continuing to cut taxes., Approximately, 666,000 net new jobs will be creat- ed by the year 2000. •We are implementing policies that are sensitive to the diverse needs of seniors. *One-step access to long-term care. •Safer communities with 1,000 new police offi- cers in Community Policing Partnerships. •Changes to auto insurance legislation that rewards retirees with discounted premiums. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: All Ontarians must work together to make our province the best place in the world to live, work, and raise a family. BRUCE SMITH 7 Chess warfare? TORONTO — Premier Mike Harris has singled out one group of voters he Is prepared to do a lot for to win' an elec- tion and raised doubts how much he is concerned about the rest. The Progressive Conservative premier said he wants to make 1999 "the year E of the middle class." He D described this group as "the millions of hardworking Ontarians, the law-abiding, tax -paying families who go out every day to build a better. future." • Harris said he will make life better for the middle class by cutting the deficit, improving health care and education and protecting the environment, but his big aim is to permit it to keep more of its own money. Harris already has cut income tax by 30 per cent more quickly than promised because of higher revenue from the economic boom and slashing services and said he will consider more cuts in taxes including the 8 cent sales tax. He said his goal is to have a bigger and more prosperous middle class. Asked what he plans to do for the poor and homeless sleeping on the streets in record numbers, the premier said almost as an afterthought there are people who need help but no easy answer. Harris's use of the term middle class is unusual. Class in the old terms tended to be based on birth, education, job, housing and income. Politicians normally shy away from the term because it smacks of unwarranted distinctions and federal statistics are more likely to talk of those with middle incomes. Harris's finance ministry also has defined mid- dle-income taxpayers as those earning between $25,000 and $75,000 a year and Harris has been fairly helpful already to most in this brack- et and particularly those at its higher end. A couple with two children and income. of $60,000 will save $1,385 next year from his income tax cuts, but a similar couple with income of $25,000 will save only $340 and a single senior with pensions of $20,000 only $2. If h70e cuts the sales tax, it will still help middle and high income families even though the sav- ings will come only on purchases, not earnings. In the upper-income range, a couple with. one child earning about $150,000 will pay, $5,080 less income tax and someone earning .$255,000 will save $15,540, although this will be partly offset by a surcharge for health care. People with these high incomes will vote for Harris overwhelmingly, because they benefit from both his tax cuts and pro-business policies that have included reducing labor's power in the workplace. But Harris has had Iittle to volunteer about improving the lot of those who earn less than the middle income range. He has cut welfare benefits by 21 per cent so many single adults have to live on $520 a month, but gave no indi- cation he will consider restoring some of this. He conceded when it was put to him the homeless are a problem,but said there is no easy answer and he never shows the enthusi- wfor helping those sleeping on streets in `nester that he devotes to giving business a boost. 1 Harris would probably argue he has helped those with low incomes by creating jobs, but many receive only minimum wage and would not thank him for it. They also often work as hard as those he admires in the middle class. Harris also takes many of his cues from the United States and probably feels he is seeking the support of what has been called there the silent majority, those who do not kick up a fuss but pay most of the bilis. Harris's praise for it as hardworking and law- abiding suggests he sees it as something of a moral majority and he may add he wants to help it preserve family values once a tow fades over sex complaints against one of his MPPs. But the premier also risks creating dangerous divisions by being much more eager to please one group which he calls the middle class than others and he could even wind up accused of promoting class warfare.