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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1999-04-28, Page 9Wednesday, April 28, 1999 Exeter Times -Advocate 9 Opinion'Forum 1 OYEARS AGO April 26, 1989 - Donna Webster cut the cake to mark her retirement after 25 years with the Exeter branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia. At last week's Poultry . Industry Conference and ROSS Exhibition, Andy and Nancey HAUGH Orosz of Ilderton took first prize BACK IN TIME in the Grade A Fxtra Large egg category . 20YEARS AGO April 27, 1979 - (Following the recent fire, Zion Lutheran Church in .Dashwood has been demol- ished. It's time capsule cornerstone revealed among other things, a German language Bible from 1908. Moira Couper of Bayfield was nominated Huron - Bruce NDP candidate for the upcoming federal election. Couper said one of. her jobs would be to dispel some of the myths about the NDP party. (Couper) A pink flamingo was seen and photographed by several people in the area around Grand Bend. Grand Bend zookeeper Ted Relouw said the bird likely escaped from an American zoo. Exeter Reeve Si Simmons told Carling street resi- dents to take their own preventative action. to stop raw sewage backing up into their basements. Some residents claim they have spent hundreds of dollars on valves to no avail. 3 S YEARS AGO April 28, 1964 --C.A. McDowell Ltd..began pour- ing curbs this week for the rebuilding of No. 4 highway into Exeter. Crediton Women's Institute marked its 45th anniversary Wednesday night. Mrs. Lorne Hodge had the honour of cutting the anniversary cake. Exeter's fledgling Lutheran congregation has selected the name of Peace Lutheran Church of Exeter for their new church. A Windsor dredge moved into Grand Bend har- bour this week to begin a major sand removal operation to permit fishing boats to use the resort harbour. 40YEARS AGO April 29, 1959 - McGillivray township farmer Grant Amos and his neighbours were able to move 135 head .of cattle out of his barn before it burned to the ground Monday night. Loss included 2,000 bushels' of grain and several tons of hay. Hans Brand, 22, of R.R. 1, Exeter has been declared the winner of the H.H. Dean Memorial award for the highest proficiency standing in prac- tical work at the 1959 dairy school held this spring atD.A.C. in Guelph. f A total of 50,000 trees will be planted in the Ausable watershed during the next year according to fieldman Hal Hooke: 5OYEARS AGO April 26, 1949 - Mr. R.G. Seldon joined his son 1)r. Harry Seldon of the Mayo Foundation in Rochester on a trip to Vancouver. Mr. Fred Dobbs left Saturday for the west where he expects to purchase a number of cattle. The Exeter (District 1figh School (;lee Club has made several recordings this winter which have been heard over CKNX Radio. Miss Margaret Dougall was in Toronto attending the music section of the Ontario Educational Association as the delegate -of supervisors of music from Huron county. 60YEARS AGO April 27, 1939 - Thieves with a sense of humour broke into a local garage and emptied the cash reg- ister. They rang up "paid out 5 cents" on the till. A brand new I1udsori Pacemaker Six automobile costs $925. It offers air foam seat cushions with a revolutionary new material of wonderful softness. 75 YEARS AGO April 27. 1924 - Bev. I)r. Fletcher, Rev. James I uc,te, Itev. G.M. Chid ley and Mr. Henry Strang motored to Woodstoi:k Monday to attend the Presbyterian Synod. Mr..I.(;. Dow shipped another carload of horses to Montreal on Saturday. Mr. A. Easton accompa- nied hire. . The property of the. late Mrs. Makins on Andrew Street was purchatic!d on Saturday by Mr. E. larrresti for $1,000. Mrs. W.11. (;rigg r,l ISr:,ntford arrived in Exeter Monday to join her husband who recently opened ul, a tailoring business 111 town. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 50th Anniversary • .reunion -Dear Editor: On May 29th 1999, 2344 Algonquin Regiment Army Cadet Corps will be hosting their 50th Anniversary reunion. With more than 2500 former cadets & staff' since 1949, we are anticipating a good turnout. If you were evt••r part of 2344 and would like to attend the reunion, please contact us at 1-705-647-4904 or at 705-647-7177 or via the Internet at genesis@ntl.sym- patico.ca or write to us at 2344 Reunion committee c/o Box 970, New Liskeard, Ontario POJ 1130. All former Officers, Cadets & Civilian Instructors plus the general public are invited to attend. CAPT. D. PELLETIER, 2344 RC(Army)CC, New Liskeard, Ontario. Candidates meeting requested Dear Editor: I would like to welcome Mr. Lamont and Mrs. Johns to the upcoming provincial election campaign in the new provincial riding of Huron -Bruce. Now that they are officially nominated I would suggest that we get together in some all candidates meetings to put our platforms and visions before the people of our riding. Recent changes to the provincial election act have shortened the actual election period. While this pro- vides the government in power the opportunity to wage an advertising blitz before the election is called it may limit the opportunity for local all candidates meetings and debates during the election. For this reason I would encourage 'organizations that normally host all candidates meetings to schedule some now. As the NDP candidate I will participate in All Candidate Meetings both before and during the election. Having been talking with constituents since our nomination in early February I am ,aware that there are many concerns about the direction we -have been - going and the damage being done to our health care and education systems. I believe we need a clearer understanding of how to have a healthy economy, and society. In organic farming we speak of a healthy soil supporting healthy crops, livestock and people. Similarly to have a healthy society we need a healthy ecosystem, healthy families and communities, effective public services like health, education and municipal governments and a business community in harmony with these. We need all these in balance, not a corpo- rate sector operating at the expense of the environ- ment, our communities, our public services and our local businesses. I believe we can build a society that is ecologically sustainable and socially just. I believe it is our respon- sibility to do so for our children and grandchildren. Are we making a world our children will thank us for? That is the question we need to be debating. I look for- ward to some all candidates meetings where the candi- dates in Huron -Bruce can put their vision before the people and where the people can ask their questions and share their hopes with us. Yours sincerely, TONY MCQUAIL, NDP Candidate, Huron -Bruce Squashing the rumour Dear Editor: I am writing to you in response to an issue that has recently been brought to my attention. As many of your readers may already have heard, there is current- ly a rumour circulating that the federal government is considering Bill 602P. It has been reported that this so-called legislation would impose a small surtax on all corporate and per- sonal e-mail transmissions originating within Canada. The purpose of this letter is to inform the residents of I Iuron-Bruce that the aforementioned is not accurate. In short, there is no legislation currently before the I louse of Commons entitled Bill 602P. In addition, I would. also like to confirm that there is no legislation being considered by the departments responsible for the regulation of electronic devices or for the imposi- tion of taxes, aimed at achieving the aforementioned goal. I trust that .this information will be of interest to the many constituents that utilize e-mail and other elec- tronic communication methods. If anyone has any further questions I would invite them to contact my office al 1-800-465-1726 or by e- mail at steckp(Ka)parl.gc.ca. Sincerely, PAUL STECKLE: Some concerns TORONTO -- Premier Mike Barris has been given a warning going into an election that he may not have the walkover many have been predicting. A poll by a newspaper which editorially supports Harris's Progressive Conservatives claims that they have lost some support and now have only 35 per cent compared to 47 per cent for the Liberals led by Dalton McGuinty, with the New Democrats far behind with only 14 per cent. The poll will not be seen as any precise guide to the outcome of the election Harris is likely to call within weeks. Polls have been notoriously unreli- able in Ontario elections, particularly by inflating Liberal chances. Going into the 1995 election, the Liberals led by Lyn McLeod were given a huge lead in - .)-s, ,„)me of which said.they had jnore, than .50 pc, cent sup- port,. yey.they lost .to I- auris, Liberal premier David Peterson had a substantial -lead in polls entering an election in 1990, but was just as soundly beaten by the NDP. The most the new poll shows is that shortly before the campaign officially starts, at a time when voters have been subjected to all its mes- sages, they are still hesitant about throwing in their lot with Harris, despite his big cuts in taxes and promises to cut even more. The consistent objections to Harris have been that his cuts have left some programs, particularly health care and social services, under -funded, but other recent developments may have helped reduce enthusiasm for him. One is that he has announced a flood of programs at the last minute,.clearly at a time when they are designed to win votes in an election, and in some instances reversed earlier policies and even embraced some he once criticized. Among them, Harris said he will hire 12,000 more nurses when not long ago he was effectively • firing nurses and. saying they were out-of-date like hula hoops, things people remember. Harris has now promised to preserve huge tracts of land as parks where previously he showed little interest in protecting the environment. 'He has found funds, which he could not find before, for early -childhood education. the home- less, ambulance and public health services and helping "moms and their newborns" stay in hospi- tal longer. These promises will please many, but they also have given Harris a change of image. He had a rep- utation for making tough decisions, like cutting programs where even his friends were hurt, and sticking to them, but now seems a politician who blows with the wind before an election, just like the rest. Harris has also been seen doing too many stunts. Voters may have found him too much like a door- to-door salesman. trotting into selected voters homes rattling his jar showing how many loonies he claims he has saved taxpayers. Voters do not usually •note tactics, but some of Harris's may be registering with them, including his having government pay his campaign chair $650 an hour for writing speeches to tide him over until the campaign starts. One hesitation voters have had about supporting McGuinty is that he has not had many policies. However, they have started to emerge. They include promises of no tax increases, but no more cuts until the budget is balanced, a route most governments have pursued as more responsi- ble and helpful to their economies. McGuinty says also he would guarantee by law the right to quality health care, re -open some hos- pitals* I Iarris closed, invest in schools and cut uni- versity tuition fees, which rose sharply under 1larris, by 10 per cent, which will attract many, although he is .not fully clear how he will get the money. Harris has tried to change his hawkish style, but he and his associates are still heard too often call- ing opponents liars, perpetrators of dirty tricks, ambulance -chatters and wimps, which is not the image Ontarians expect of a premier. This latest survey lixind that most still feel the Tory premier is headed in the right direction cut- ting taxes and government. 'Their 'concerns are about: the way he is getting there. ERIC DOWD A VIEW FROM QUEEN'S PARK