Times-Advocate, 1999-03-24, Page 9Wednesday, March 24, 1999
Exeter Times—Advocate
Opinion&Forum
9
10 YEARS AGO
March 22, 1989 - Three girls
from the First Kirkton
Pathfinders will be going to
Mexico in July to the National
Headquarters for Mexican Girl
Guides. The three girls chosen
from the Ausable District are
Denise Ferguson, Kathryn
Atkinson and Daphne Damen.
A new record for electricity
consumption in Ontario was
reached in December, 1988. At 5.30 p.m. on
Monday, December 12, peak demand for electrici-
ty reached 23,000 megawatts. The record peak
was 12 percent higher than the previous highest
demand recorded in December of 1987.
20 YEARS AGO
March 15, 1979 - Under the Exeter council ani-
mal control bylaw , Judy Finch has been hired as
the town's dog catcher. She will sell dog licences
and carry out two hour patrols on a staggered
basis.
At the IGA stores in Exeter and Grand Bend,
specials include three pounds of sliced pork liver
for one dollar, two pounds of Kraft processed
cheese slices for three dollars and two heads of
lettuce for one dollar.
35YEARSAGO
March 25, 1964 - Hensall police chief Ernie
Davis was guest speaker at the St. Patrick's meet-
ing of the 1st Hensall Brownie Pack held in the
In Red Church. The chief spoke about safety.
Acknowledging all contributions and pledges to
date, the district swimming pool committee
announced over $14,500 has been raised. Co-
chairman Mel Gaiser said construction could start
within a few weeks.
Described by government officials as .one of the
most modern processing line for turnips, the
installation at Exeter Produce and Storage
Limited washes, dries •and waxes turnips in a
continuous process. The line accomplishes in
seven minutes what formerly required 12 to 18
hours to complete by the conventional rack dry-
ing method.
40YEARS AGO
March 22, 1959 - Damage totalled $16,000 in
•two early morning fires which destroyed farm
buildings in Usborne Township this week. A large
barn owned by Fred Knip was lost along with
contents including a new combine and over 125
pigs.
At about the same time a driveshed and colony
house owned by Gilbert Johns in Elimville went
up in flames causing the loss of equipment and
500 baby chicks.
Richard Stade, Zurich goalie and Hensall
defenceman Craig Chapman were judged the best
individual players in the third annual Shamrock
hockey tournament in Lucan.
Elmer D. Bell, QC, outlined father and son
arrangements for family farms at a recent South
Huron Junior Farmers meeting. The Exeter
lawyer described the services available to farmers
for establishing agreements for the transfer of
property.
50YEARS AGO
March 23, 1949 - Mr. Ed Hunter-Duvar has
completed the erection of a motel comprising of
four cabins on the property purchased just south
of Exeter on the highway.
Wing Commander W.C. Van Camp and the per-
sonnel of the Centralia Airport are this week cele-
brating the 25th anniversary of the Royal
Canadian Air Force.
Mr. and Mrs. L.J. Penhale returned home
Saturday after an extended visit with their son-in-
law and daughter Mr. and Mrs. Keith Colby in
Victoria, Australia. They also saw their two
grandchildren for the first time.
75 YEARS AGO
March 24 - Mr. Benson Tuckey has secured a
position with the Raleigh Drug Company of
London, and has left for that city.
Mayor W.J. Heaman was in Clinton, Friday
night.
Messrs. Thomas and Harry Coates and Verne
Pincombe returned home Saturday after spending
some time in Detroit.
Mr. Wes Simmons who left a few weeks ago for .
Filmore, Saskatchewan to settle his business
affairs there, returned to Exeter on Monday and
will resume his business here which he recently
ROSS
HAUGH
BACK IN TIME
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Hawks coach
disappointed in coverage
Dear Sports Editor:
I was somewhat disappointed in your reporting in
the March 10 edition of the Times Advocate. In your
column Missiles and Musings, you stated that "things
don't look much better for the Hawks next season".
During our weekly interviews'you asked intelligent
and to the point questions and the articles in the
paper reflect this. One day after being ousted from
the playoffs you asked, "How many players will be
returning next year?". I believe my answer was, "To
be honest, I haven't given it much thought, nor have
I talked to any of the players about their plans.
Realistically, probably around 13-15." We have 21
players eligible to return for the 1999-2000 season.
That is an outstanding number of possible returnees.
As you stated, with a little luck from the fickle fin-
ger of the hockey gods, our 1998-99 season could
have been more successful as we were on the short
end of 17 one or two goal games during the season.
Don't get me wrong, the club has a lot of work to do,
but you painted a picture that was much worse than
it actually is.
Secondly, in your regular column covering the
Exeter-Lucan series, Exeter was made out to be a
bunch of hackers and goons. This was hardly the
case according to the penalty minutes reported on
the game sheets. As to Lucan questioning our disci-
pline, as I recall, in the two games that the score was
run up and the Irish players showboated after every
goal, I think we were very disciplined as not to retali-
ate with any goon tactics. If memory serves me cor-
rectly, when the scores were close, it was Lucan who
tried to intimidate through goon tactics.
If this sounds like sour grapes, it definitely is not.
Full credit goes to the Irish as they finished 30 points
ahead of us in the regular season and showed why in
the playoffs. My beef was simply with the inaccura-
cies reported throughout the series. The coaches,
trainers, managers, executive and players spend a
tremendous amount of time trying to put it together •
for a successful season and it is sometimes a fine line
between winning and losing.
The Exeter Hawks are one of the most respected,
successful and winningest teams in the 0.H.A. Jr.
Development league and will continue to follow the
blueprint that has allowed us to get to that position.
Yours in Hockey
SCOTT BOGART
Exeter Hawks Coach
Huron UnitedWay
reaches their .oat
Dear Editor:
As the 1998 General Campaign Chair for the Huron
United Way, it gives. me great pleasure to say - We did
it! We have officially reached our 1998 Campaign Goal
of $200,000.
On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of the
Huron United Way, I would like to extend a sincere
thank you to the individuals •and corporations who
helped make it all possible. Each contribution and
every effort was instrumental in .this terrific success,
and is gratefully acknowledged. Our achievement of
$200,000 represents a $22,000 or 11 percent increase
over last years' incredible success, which was certainly
a hard act to follow!
The mission of the United Way is to "promote the
organized capacity of people to care for one another"
and through the member agencies and New Venture
Grant programs funded by the United Way, literally
thousands of people in Huron County will receive a bet-
ter quality of care and service. Thanks to you!
As we close out 1998, already preparations for the
1999 campaign are underway, which will take many
dedicated volunteers to organize and implement. If you
would like to be part of this vital and exciting organiza-
tion, please call the office at 482-7643. Contributions,
whether they are financial or personal resources and
talents, are welcome and gratefully appreciated.
It has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve as
General Campaign Chair for the Huron United Way,
and I wish them continued success. Once again the
people of Huron have proven they can do it.
Congratulations and well done!
Sincerely,
BRUCE SiiAw
General Campaign Chair
Huron United Way
Election in the spring?
TORONTO-- Some in Ontario's
Progressive Conservative party,
much more than in other par-
ties, have felt they have a God-
given right to fill their own
pockets when, they get in
power, and they are at it again.
The latest example is that of
Leslie Noble, Premier Mike
Harris's campaign manager in
the 1995 election and in anoth- A VIEW FROM
er to be called imminently, who QUEEN'S PARK
has had a rags -to -riches rise as
a consultant and lobbyist of government.
Before winning with Harris, Noble was scratch-
ing out a modest career on the lower rungs of
public affairs consulting. But she has since set up
a company offering to help clients influence gov-
ernment policies and signed up some of the
province's biggest companies who have paid her
many thousands of dollars.
Noble insists she never uses her privileged posi-
tion, in which she talks to Harris regularly, to pro-
mote her clients' interests, but speaks to him only
about election strategy.
She also says she does not contact ministers on
behalf of clients, although several clients say she
arranged meetings with ministers for them. She
says she contacts ministers' political staffs and
civil servants, but in no way attempts to direct
them.
Noble nevertheless appears to have won
remarkable successes in return for large fees she
charges. As examples, she was retained by a bus
company opposing a plan the province
announced to end monopoly some companies
have on routes and allow all to compete.
Noble got the chief executive of her company in
to see then transportation minister Al Palladini
and civil servants and the plan ground to a halt.
A firm providing financial services hired Noble to
help get it more work from government and
quickly doubled its contracts, while a computer
consulting firm which hired Noble had its con-
tracts quadrupled.
When a bank chairman wanted to impress on
Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Ernie Eves
the need to oppose bank mergers, Noble's compa-
ny got him a meeting with the minister, who
rarely has time to drop in the legislature.
These disclosures are on top of earlier revela-
tions Harris's government paid Tom Long, his
campaign chair, $650 -an -hour for speechwriting
and equally unjustifiable amounts to a communi-
cations adviser to help keep the wolves from
.their doors while they waited for an election.
Much of the news media has ignored them on
the claim this is an insider's story and people in all
parties make money when they govern.
But there should be concerns when, for example,
a company hires a friend of the premier and they
get a policy changed and deprive the public of a
benefit, which in this case would have been com-
petition among buses and reduced fares.
The Coalition Against Poverty is not likely to get
a one-on-one chat with the finance minister as
easily as Noble got one for her bank chairman.
Ministers, 'their political staffs and particularly
senior bureaucrats already facing downsizing may
feel intimidated when Noble and her clients call
for favors, knowing she may be chatting with
Harris over breakfast next day. •
Companies who generally are enthusiastic about
Harris should be aghast that competitors who hire
Noble get preferences such as more contracts with
government, because Harris has said business has
to stand on its own feet.
Soon after the Liberals under premier David
Peterson took office his campaign manager also
tried to cash in as a consultant claiming he had
special connections to help clients. but Peterson
immediately cut him off.
When the New Democrats succeeded them in
government, some senior NDPers tried to make
money offering seminars on how to lobby it, but
they were inexpensive and offered publicly and
thus available to all.
These were not in the same league as Tory pre-
mier William Davis, who provided a luxurious liv-
ing for his campaign chief, Norman Atkins, by
placing much of the government's advertising
through his agency.
Harris has not tried to make a defence of Noble,
because there is none -- it would not help to say
he is merely keeping up a family tradition.
c