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Wednesday, March 17, 1999
Remember when...
On June 30 to July 1, 2000. South Huron District
High School will celebrate its 50th Anniversary.
The Exeter Times Advocate would like to join in
the celebrations by sharing articles or pictures
which have appeared over the years.
YEARS 1947 TO 1950 - HI HIGHLIGHTS
Gleaned from Exeter District High School
History was being made with the official opening
of the new Exeter District High School on
Wednesday afternoon. The large "gymtorium" and
gallery were filled to overcrowding and many were •
unable to gain admittance for the opening cere-
monies in which the Hon. Leslie M. Frost, Premier
of Ontario, was the principal speaker.
"I wonder what the pioneers of this community
would think if they could see this beautiful building
which is being officially opened and dedicated
today," said Mr. Frost in his opening remarks.
Those pioneers came to this country with little of
this world's goods...little of the comforts that we
enjoy. They carne to Canada as a land of opportu-
nity. They came with a great spirit, with religious
convictions and with a great moral background.
The wealth of today would count for little without
the foundations of christian principles implanted by
them. These today are still our greatest assets.
They brought with them the ideas of municipal and
parliamentary government and they brought with
them high ideals of education. The speaker won-
dered what Egerton Ryerson, the founder of our
educational system, would say if he could see what
is taking place today. He believed that the people
of Ontario had been true to the ideals to which they
have been heirs.
Mr. Frost stated that today we are leading
America in the way of education. He spoke of the
tremendous increase in expenditures that are being
made now for education in comparison with that of
even a few years ago. But of greater importance
are the human values. The government is interest-
ed in bringing the best education to all classes, to
give everyone an equality of opportunity. This is
important because the youth today will be the law-
makers and guide the destinies of this grand coun-
try tomorrow.
In conclusion Mr. Frost brought a great uproar
from at least a part of the audience when he pro-
claimed a holiday for the students and teachers,
both high and public, on Friday.
Dr. H. H. Cowen, chairman of the Board of
Education, presided and paid tribute to all who had
in any way assisted in making the new school pos-
sible - to the architects, Page & Steele; to the con-
tractors, McKay & Cocker; to Jack Smith, foreman
during the construction; to the Board for the har-
mony and co-operation, especially to the Property
committee, Charles S. MacNaughton, Laird Mickle,
Kenneth Johns and Harold Walper; to the principal,
H. L. Sturgis, and staff, and the secretary, E. D.
Howey.
Acknowledgement was made of pictures donated
in memory of the late Miss Kate McFaul, for many
years secretary of the board, and of the donation of
a piano by the Student Council.
The Glee Club, under the direction of Mr. C.
Wilson, sang three numbers.
The presentation of a school bible on behalf of the
Ontario Trustees' and Ratepayers' Association was
made by Rev. H. J. Snell.
Mr. E. L. Mickle spoke briefly of the early work of
the board in securing plans, and introduced the
architect Mr. Harland Steele.
Mr. Thomas Pryde, M.L.A., introduced the prime
minister to what he termed the best audience, in
the 'best county of the Province of Ontario.
Other speakers were high school Inspector Gray,
and Cecil Johnston, Warden of Huron. 11. N. Creech
presented to the school the trowel that had been
presented to him at the laying of the corner -stone.
The building was dedicated in an impressive
manner by Rev. Mr. Getz, of Dashwood.
The concluding speaker was the principal, H. L.
Sturgis, who stated that the new school was a great
challenge to both teachers and students and hoped
they would be able to justify the thought and .the
expense that had gone into the new building.
Among those present were John Hanna, M.L.A.,
of Huron -Bruce; Thomas Patrick, M.L.A. for North
Middlesex; Country Clerk N. Miller and Country
Treasurer Harvey Erskine.
For more information about the SHDHS
"All -Years Reunion" contact
Kendra Arthur 235-4006 (H) or 235-4587 (W)
or Pat Rowe 236-7167
LETTERS TO TH.E EDITOR • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Keep our emergency
g Y
room open
Dear Editor:
So here we go again, EMERGENCY CLOSED. I'm sur-
prised people don't seem to be worried about it until
they need the facility. But then again, I'm not really
surprised at the apathy demonstrated.
People should be campaigning for more responsibility
being given to nurse practitioners, although I suspect
that there might be some petty protectionism on the
part of the doctors. They probably seo the RNPs as a
threat to their own livelihood. Since we have no oper-
ating rooms, doctors in our Emergency, operate a
clearing station. Patients beyond their capability,
requiring surgery or specialized equipment, are
shipped off to other hospitals. Nurse practitioners are
probably capable of performing these same functions
and should be given wider authority.
The notice outside the hospital should read
Emergency Open -No Doctors On Duty and patients
could decide for themselves whether to go elsewhere
or not. If I was having a heart attack, I would be only
too pleased to have an RNP stabilize my condition
before shipping me off to London for example.
This would be infinitely better than driving myself to
Clinton (a smaller town), London or Stratford, which I
probably wouldn't make anyway.
When there was a possibility of closing the whole
hospital, it was pointed out that in the summer, thou-
sands more people will be in the area. What priced
Emergency then?
We've been told that a high proportion of Emergency
visitors are not genuine emergencies and could have
waited for a normal family doctor visit. RNPs could
have handled these without the intervention of a doc-
tor.
So I say, especially in these times of doctor shortage,
give the Registered Nurse Practitioners more authority
and responsibility commensurate with their expertise.
DON'T CLOSE EMERGENCY - EVER.
Yours, JOHN SANDERSON.
Impaired Driving: The Number -
One Preventable Crime
This letter was sent to Dick Harris, MP, Official
Opposition, Prince George-Bulkley Valley from the offi-
cial opposition press office.
The crime occurred more than three years ago on
Highway 16 in my hometown of Prince George, British
Columbia: broken glass, twisted metal, the thick smell of
oil and gas, and the flashing lights and whirring sirens of
emergency vehicles. Another three innocent victims had
been killed due to the senseless actions of a drunk dri-
ver.
Being witness to that tragedy which destroyed a young
family and the subsequent realization that the driver of
the killing vehicle had previous offences for the crime of
impaired driving, convinced me that changes had to be
made to strengthen our impaired driving laws. The laws
have not been changed in more than a decade and they
do not sufficiently deter people from drinking and dri-
ving.
For the last several years, I have done everything with-
in my power as an MP to change the Criminal Code pro-
visions relating to impaired driving. I want to send a
strong message to those who choose to drink and drive
that there will be a zero tolerance attitude toward their
criminal acts.
I first put forward a Private Members' Bill (C-201) to
amend the Criminal Code to provide for a seven-year
minimum sentence for those convicted of impaired dri-
ving causing death. At present, there is no minimum jail
term, and only a 14 -year maximum sentence. This bill,
which was supported by organizations with millions of
supporters, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving,
was narrowly defeated by a margin of 31 votes.
Subsequently I introduced a Private Members' Motion,
M-78, calling on the government to strengthen all
impaired driving sections of the Criminal Code to
enhance deterrence and ensure that the sentences
reflect the seriousness of the crime.
This motion received support from all sides of the
House and was unanimously adopted in February 1997.
Despite this, the Liberals failed to take any action, to
introduce legislation or review Criminal Code sanctions
for the tragic and preventable crime of impaired driving.
Finally, on October 30, 1997, I re -introduced M-78 as
an Opposition Supply Day Motion. A full day of debate in
the House of Commons saw the motion, again, receive
the unanimous consent of the House, this time with an
instruction that the Justice Committee carry out a
review and report to the House with legislation by May
15, 1998.
Of course, though, Liberals like to delay, and ali'iough
Principal's Note
Problems are the natural off-
spring of change, so we're all
going to see plenty of them in
our years to come.
Schools need students and
staff who can take care of
problems, not merely point
them out. Too many people
get this confused. They seem
to think complaining is a con-
structive act. They're keen on
identifying all the problems
but contribute little toward improving things.
Their attitude might sound something like
"Student council or the school principal is
supposed to take care of this or, fix this or
that. It's their responsibility. Let's just watch
them and see what they do."
Not just in schools but in our entire society
we've gotten unbelievably good at the blame
game.
We're expert at dodging personal responsi-
bility. We use our energy to criticize and
complain instead. This carries a terrific cost.
So long as we always look at the other guy for
all the solutions we make ourselves into vic-
tims. And we are capable of so much more
than that.
Perhaps we've come to expect too much of
our school or our student council or our
church or government and too little of our-
selves as individuals. In the long haul, it sim-
ply doesn't work.
The school's values grow out of the individ-
ual's values. The unwritten code of what's
acceptable grows out of the individual's code
of yvhat's acceptable. The school's results are
really just an accumulation of individual's
results. So, instead of being a finger -pointer,
and rather than trying to single out somebody
to blame, each of us should assume owner-
ship. Let the solutions start with the individ-
ual. Each day we get up in the morning, we
should believe in ourselves as individuals and
our power to make a difference. Lets' all be
fixers not victims and pretty soon there won't
be anybody left to point the finger at.
DH MOTH
PRINCIPAL'S
NOTE
a year overdue, the Justice Committee has now carried
out hearings on the issue of impaired driving and we are
now discussing a draft report which will then lead to
legislation to be introduced in the House of Commons by
May 15, 1999. I am confident this deadline will be met.
Impaired driving is the number one cause of criminal
death and injury in this country. Statistically, people who
make the conscious choice to drink and then drive kill
4.5 Canadians and injure over 300 Canadians every day.
Impaired drivers caused over half of Canada's 3,300
road fatalities in 1995.
Impaired driving is the most frequent offence dealt
with by our already overburdened courts. I believe we
must get away from the mindset that impaired driving is
a social ill. In fact, it is a serious crime and must be
treated as such.
Specifically, I would like to see the allowable Blood
Alcohol Content lowered from the current .08 (80 -mg of
alcohol in 100 ml of blood) to .05 -the standard in ten
other countries. I believe that police officers must be
given all the tools they need to catch impaired drivers,
including the use of new "Passive Alcohol Sensors," a
device that detects minute traces of alcohol by taking a
reading close to the driver's mouth.
As well, the court process must be made straightfor-
ward and efficient and must allow certificate evidence to
be accepted at a much higher level. I also believe that
since impaired driving crashes are not accidents, the
penalties for those convicted must be significantly
strengthened and minimum sentences are needed for
impaired drivers who kill. Finally, since the trend of
hard-core drinkers to stop driving after drinking has not
been. decreasing, I would like to see mandatory treat-
ment for habitual impaired drivers.
It has been a long, hard fight to get the issue of
impaired driving reviewed and I urge you to call, fax or
write to your Member of Parliament and the Minister of
Justice t8 indicate your support for criminal code
amendments that will truly provide measures of deter-
rence and increased penalties to ensure that the punish-
ment addresses the severity of the crime of impaired
driving. The families and friends of victims of impaired
drivers deserve no less.