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Home My WebLink AboutTimes-Advocate, 1999-02-17, Page 8. a I .4\r 7 )'-I� 1•t1BuovrIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511 tiikiCkatt er and Editor 0100/0110 • General Manager Deb Lora Production Manager Published by ,i. W. Eedy Publications Limited 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-1331 EDITORIAL Get tough policy a disservice to teens The Ontario government wants to get tough with teens. First it was a strict code of conduct and dress for schools, and now it is a policy whereby parents would pay for damage done by young offenders. Give the kids a break. Both these proposals play into the misconception that our children are ill-mannered little monsters who have been allowed to run out of control, and who are head- ed directly for a life of crime unless someone gets tough with them. . Kids make a good target heading into an election for a number of reasons.. First of all, children do not vote. Second, most caring parents do worry about the job they are doing raising their children. Third, there is a widespread fear, which is not backed up by facts, that youth crime is increasing at an alarming rate. The reality is. today's children have a lot more to fear from adults than the other way around. Their small size and Iack of political and legal clout makes them vulnerable. Only a small minority of children commit violent crimes, while too many children continueto be targets of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of adults. Most adults do not have to worry about being hit if they make an error; many children do. At the same time, teenagers are subjected to pres- sures their parents never even dreamed of. AIDS, high youth unemployment rates, and rising tuiitiQF fees are major worries for teens. The sheer amount of knowl- edge they must acquire to survive in today's society is constantly growing. Reading, writing and 'arithmetic are not enough. They must learn about computers, career and financial planning, and more. Information once taught at university is now part of the high school curriculum and is even making its way into elementary school. Then there is a dizzying round of music lessons, com- petitive sports, clubs and part time jobs. A lot of teens add volunteer work to their already full schedules. Anyone who meets teenagers on a daily basis tends to be struck not by their odd style of dress or foul lan- guage, but by their ambition and energy. Most of them are not merely coping with the pressure they face, they are thriving. Those kids are our future, and our future is in good hands. Sadly, some students are not able to cope without a lot of extra help. Cuts to social services funding means teachers and parents have fewer and fewer resources to draw on for that help. It seems counterproductive to calf out for a dress code when a child with learning disabilities has to wait a year for testing. And it seems cruel to tell parents they will be held financially responsible for damage done by their child, when the Children's Aid Society has equally long waiting lists for programs to assist troubled families. Both measures do a disservice tothe vast majority of our young people, who are ambitious, capable, law- abiding citizens with a wealth of potential. And they do a disservice to the minority who need real help, not campaign speeches. reprinted from Saugeen City News About the Times -Advocate Address Office Hours Times -Advocate, 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850,. Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Contact Us By Phone or. Fax Classified ad & subscription sales .... (519) 235-1331 24-hour automated attendant (519) 235-1336 Fax number for all departments (519) 235-0766 Subscription Rates One year rate for addresses in Canada: Two year rate for addresses in Canada One year rate for addresses outside Canada: $35+GST $63+GST ...$102 Cali 519) 235-1331 to order a subscription.. Look on the bri I hope what I'm hearing at my first go -round at Exeter council meetings is an aberration and not the rule. The subject was a South Huron amalga- mation update at Feb. 8's committee of the whole meeting. At every turn the_ council- lors present (to be fair, councillor Pete Armstrong and Mayor Ben Hoogenboom weren't there for the discussion) sniped and complained about 'what ifs' and gener- ally found every disadvantage they could about the proposed merger with Stephen and Usborne townships. What a bunch of negative Nellies. This small town protectionist draw up the ram- parts amparts attitude is exactly why Exeter, and all of Huron County, is light years away from other southern Ontario counties when it comes to municipal restructuring. What ever happened to this town's optimism? Instead of dreading the inevitable, council should be looking at amalgamation as a golden opportu- nity to do things right this time. Municipal merg- ers can end needless duplication and provide effi- ciencies that will cut taxes and even improve some services. On the other hand, I'm not a gigantic fan of mergers just for the sake of mergers. There are some horror stories out there with reduced or centralized services, closed libraries and so on after mega mergers. Small town councillors that yell 'bigger isn't necessarily better" are sometimes right. They are also sometimes wrong. Nitpicking about the worse t side for once case scenario without having all the information is a waste of time. It's time for council to take the merger bull by the horns and wrestle it to the ground. For the sake of everyone's sanity. Goodbye Lucan A shuffling of reporter beats at the T -A finds me leaving lucky Lucan and tackling Exeter council (see above). Though I look forward to, the .opportuni- ty given to me by my benevolent boss, I must thank my contacts in the Lucan area I've cultivated over almost two years. I've written about successes like the municipal merger, the founding and con- tinued strides of the Ausable Centre and a new library. I've also had to share bad news such as last month's tragic murder -suicide, the stalled library construction and the layoffs of long-time municipal employees due to amalgamation. I've had fun and I'll miss the regular contact with Lucan and its friendly, interesting and always entertaining people. Setting it straight Here's a gentle 'I'm right and you're wrong' tid- bit. One of our enquiring readers noted in a letter to the editor last week that the tragedy in Lucan last month wasn't the first ever murder in the vil- lage. Let me remind our faithful reader that the Donnelly massacre happened at the family home- stead on Roman Line in Biddulph. Township, tech- nically not in Lucan. CRAIG BRADFORD MISSILES AND MUSINGS Classified Rates Word ads: $9.00 for 20 words, 15a for each additional word+ GST. Notices (births, deaths, announcements, coming events, memoriams, cards of thanks): $11.00 + GST7 for up to 30 words, 15t for each additional- word-. All ads must be pre -paid. The classified ad deadline is Monday at 10 a.m. Display Advertising Toa display (519) 235-1331 weekdays 8:30 to 5 p.m. or evenings (519) 235-1336 (leave message) or toll-free at 1-888-270-1602. Deadline: Friday'4 port,. E-maif Us TA e-mail, addresses consist of the persons first.:inhtal' and last name followed by @ta.eedy.com. Por maniple, Jim Beckett's e-mail address is beckettfEta.eedy.com> Our general e-mail address is edftreSoutik. Huromcom. The Times -Advocate Team Advertising Barb Consitt ext. 110 Reporters Craig Bradford ext. 113 Kate Monk ext, 107 Scott Nixon wit. 105 Ciistomer Service Sue Hollings ext. 101 Carol Windsor ext. 102 Production Staff Deb Lord ext. 114 Alma Ballantyne; Brenda Horn, Laurel Miner, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Accounting Staff Cassie Dalrymple .........ext. 206: Anita. McDonald ext. 111 Ruthanne Negrijn ext. 104 Ruth Sl ght ext. 1.06-