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Home My WebLink AboutTimes-Advocate, 1999-03-24, Page 88 Mc:11a T1MiiS-ADVOcATE PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511 Jim Beckett Publisher and Editor Deb Lord General Manager Production Manager Don Smith Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-1331 EDITORIAL Rules to remember ne of the best read parts of any news- paper is the Letter to the Editor col- umn and there are usually more than enough to make issues lively and interesting. Rules of writing letters are quite simple. Stick to. these and we will be quiet happy to print them, if not one week, then the next. * "Thank yous." Please use our card of thanks column in the classified section or have your group budget for display advertis- ing dvertising space, rather than use a Letter to the Editor. Letters are the place to express opin- ions and carry on debates. * Bad taste. Please make your points with- out vulgar language. * Libelous material. To bad-mouth someone in public is slander, to do so in print is libel. If we allowed someone's character to be unduly attacked, we are just as subject to a libel suit as the author of the letter. • * Illegible and incoherent letters. The most ideal situation is have the letter e-mailed to us, or at least typed so it's. readable. Some letters ramble and make no sense. If we can't make head nor tail of the letter, we won't make our readers try. If we can edit the let- ter to make it clearer, we will. * Length. This is not the place for a text- book of personal opinion. We suggest that most people can get their point across in fewer than 750 words. Keep it short and to the point. It is in the best interest of the writer for the letter to be interesting and understandable to other readers. * Anonymous letters. If the writer doesn't believe the letter is worth signing, we can't believe it is worth reading. The opinion is more valid if the writer is willing to stand behind it. If a. person does not want his or her name to appear, a strong case must be made to us in person (and very rarely are unsigned letters printed). * Unsubstantiated facts. if you want to quote `facts' in the letter, tell us where they come from so readers can check on them. * End of "debate. After we feel all sides of a debate have been thoroughly aired and let- ters on the subject become repetitive, we will put an end to it. * Local interest. Any topic is fair play, but letters should be of interest to the people in our community. Mount Forest Confederate `: i:N.•l:•F%ta:*.h&4::5';M:::::.FX97 F'?f9 ?C' 4d2::Svf+f~17;'"4M›.-. .�+ 6 .Yr•L✓ About the Times -Advocate Address & Office Hours Times -Advocate, 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM 156. 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 (515=235-0766 j Subscription Rates •i One year rate for addresses in Canada: $35+GST Two year rate for addresses in Canada: $63+GST One year rate for addresses outside Canada: L $102 Call (519) 235-1331 to order a subscription. Classified Rates . ,r,:,::;:S::$M1n44650$7:f$1605kfiCf<.45%k:ff.f4MMAMZ :.' Editorial&Opinio Wednesday, March 24, 1999 %CV Caught between winter and spring I greeted Saturday morning reluctantly. It was the first day of spring and I knew winter, the sea- son I love, was on its last legs. Iarrived at Morrison Dam Conservation Area for my usual Saturday morning sleep walk. My Labrador retriever/border collie/Tasmanian she - devil was .leading the way with her usual enthusi- asm. I was just relieved the ground was still frozen so she wouldn't be covered in mud by the end of her romp. It wasn't long into the walk when I sur- rendered to spring and decided to let go of winter. The call of a redwing blackbird pealing acrossthe marsh won me over — it was the signal I needed. By the time I finished the hike, I was ready to welcome spring. I put the laundry out on the clothes line for the first time in '99 and then sat on the garden bench, reading about spring planting and basking in the warm sun. A robin started singing so I glanced up and saw him sharing the pear tree with a junco, a beauti- ful slate grey bird that' comes south for the win- ter. The junco wasn't ready to concede the neigh- bourhood to the robin and headnorth for the summer. Exeter was just fine with him but simul- taneously, he probably wanted to get back to his summer grounds. The junco and I had the same mixed emotions. While I was smiling onthe outside during the warm days of February, I was wishing for snow in my heart. During this time of "transition, I'm torn between winter and spring. I hate to see the snow leave but I find myself checking my flowerbeds for shoots of tulips, daf- fodils and crocuses. It's nice to have enough light and warmth to` barbecue supper but on the other hand', 1 enjoy curling up with a book by the fireplace on those cold winter nights. And while I don't like to see the juncos leave, 1' welcome the mergansers, tundra swans, buffle- heads and all the harbingers of spring. Am I betraying Old Man Winter as I wel- come spring? I looked so fcrward to him coming in December and I don't want to whisk him out the door. Loyalty aside, there are many things I won't miss about minter. Cold cars. When I met with our intrepid publisher/editor about working for the Times -Advocate, he didn't mention I'd have to get into a cold car countless times each day. Shoveling the driveway. I lost my enthu- siasm for the great Huron County pastime when March rolled around. Enough was enough. Let the sun melt it: Car accidents and fires. Our community has been hit hard this winter. These tragedies are the worst part of a reporter's job and I'd be happy to never cover a fire or accident again. Now that we're not going to receive enough snow to ski, it's time to look forward to spring and all the good things that go with it. Sitting outside for my morning- coffee. A gentle breeze .blowing in the bedroom window.' Opening day at •Bergie's. Warm rain, spring peepers, tulips, warblers and opening the cottage. Winter was great while it lasted but bring on spring! KATE MON KATE'S TAKES Word ads: $9.00 for 20 words, 15e for each additional word+ GST. Notices (births, deaths, announcements, coming events, memoriams, cards of thanks): $11.00 + GST for up to 30 words, 15e for each additional word. All ads must be. pre -paid. The classified ad deadline is Monday at 10 a.m. Display Advertising To place a display ad, (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 p.m. E-mail Us TA e-mail addresses consist of the person's first initial and last name followed by @ta.eedy.com. For example, Jim Beckett's e-mail address is <jbeck- ett@ta.eedy.com> Our general e-mail address is edi- tor@South Huron.com. K The Times -Advocate Team Advertising Barb Consitt ext. 110 Reporters Craig Bradford Kate Monk Scott Nixon Customer Service Sue Rollings Carol. Windsor ext. 113 ext. _ 107 eXt..105. ext .101 ext. 102 Production Staff Deb Lord ..... ext. 114 Brenda Hern, Laurel Miner, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Accounting Staff Cassie Dalrymple .ext. 206 Anita McDonald ext. 111 Ruthanne .Negrijn ext. 104 Ruth Slaght . , ext. 106.