HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1999-07-14, Page 66
Wednesday, July 14, 1999
1
TIMUS
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EDITORIAL
Sout
uron
stays on the
right track
e often complain about our munic-
ipal politicians and the decisions
they make. Now it's time to laud
them for sticking to their guns.
The reeves from Exeter, Usborne Township and
Stephen Township presented a united front at last
week's Huron County council meeting in Goderich
and helped to vote down a last ditch effort from a
citizen's group pushing a single -tier government
for Huron.
In a recorded vote, a motion to reconsider the
single -tier was defeated 41-20. The weighted rep-
resetitation vote breaks down to 16 councillors
voting nay, nine voting yay and one absent:'
Members of the 'The Concerned Citizens for the
Promotion and Implementation of a Single Tier
Government in Huron told council, before the vote
a single -tier system would save the most money
and maintain services better than neighbouring
municipalities working on their own ' amalgama=
tions like Exeter, Usborne and Stephen have.
The group said Huron residents haven't heard
enough information about .restructuring and the
single -tier idea was struck down unfairly.
Elected representatives from Exeter, Usborne
and Stephen have looked at all the options. They
considered the single -tier and didn't like what
they saw. A centralized government out. of
Goderich doesn't bode well for Exeter or its sur-
rounding townships. Exeter, Usborne and Stephen
councils, through the merger committee, have
worked hard to come up with the best local solu-
tion to the province's forced amalgamation push.
They have jumped numerous hurdles to come up
with the merger proposal that was presented to
county council on July 8. There is still much work
to do and hard decisions such as staff reductions
to come.
The three municipalities are a natural fit; they
have similar issues and goals; rural residents of
the townships go to Exeter for their shopping and
other consumer needs and the town is considered
the central service centre for .the area.
Yes, a single -tier government would give. Huron
County a lot of weight at the table provincially.
;But it would also mean we would be governed out
of Goderich. The concerns of Goderich natives are
not the same "of Exeter area residents. Those con-
cerns should be addressed by their own, separate
governments.
Exeter area politicians have a long history of
begging to disagree. with the county and Goderich,
sometimes with good reasons, sometimes without.
This time they fought, and won, the good fight.
•
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Leave dead artists alone
Imagine my surprise last week when I read a review
on. the new Ernest Hemingway novel, "True at First
Light".
Unsure of my sanity, I shook my head and rubbed my
eyes. Could this be true? A new Hemingway novel? Isn't
this the man skrti4 ended his life with a shotgun in 1961?
Yes, it is the de man and no, he isn't writing from
that great writers' afterworld in the sky, it just turns out
some people thought it would be a good idea to cash in
on Hemingway's enduring' popularity by publishing a
book Hemingway chose not to release for public eyes.
But Hemingway is dead and dead people have no rights
and in this world where the mighty dollar is
increasingly becoming more important, dead
artists ,are going to find every scrap of their
unreleased material dragged out of old musty
files and sold in the neighbourhood big box
store.
And this is wrong.
If Hemingway had wanted "True at First
Light" to be published, he would have done so
while he was alive or left strict orders in his will
that it be published. Otherwise, it can only be
assumed Hemingway didn't publish the novel
because he found it unworthy for publication.
But apparently some greedy publishers think
Hemingway's name will be powerful enough so sales of
the book can line their pockets. And that, after all, is,
what the game is all about -- making money.
This trend of publishing second-rate material from
famous dead people is not new, but it is increasing.
Another example is John Lennon, whose image and art-
work is plastered everywhere. Lennon, who was mur-
dered in 1980, can now be seen in Apple computer -
magazine ads, lying in bed with his wife Yoko Ono in a
picture that must have been taken about 30 years ago.
Do you think if Lennon were still alive he would appear
in Apple commercials? Would Lennon, one of the great-
est idealists to come out of the, rock 'n' roll culture, want
to help computer companies make more money?
In addition to his own image, Lennon's drawings can
be seen on coffee mugs and neck ties. Work Lennon
originally intended to be drawn just for his son Sean is
now being mass marketed like South Park memorabilia
and Star Wars action figures.
Things are getting _.o bad that you don't even have to
be dead to suffer the indignities of commercialism.
Author J.D. Salinger, who is just as famous for his reclu-
siveness as he is for his masterpiece novel "The Catcher
in the Rye", has been the subject of attention for about
the past year. It began when self -promoting writer Joyce
Maynard, best known for writing the book the Nicole
Kidman movie "To Die For" was based on, published
her memoirs on her early '70s affair with Salinget. She
was 18, Salinger was 53. Maynard's latest pub-
lic stunt was to auction off for $156,000 14 love
letters Salinger wrote to her. Maynard claims
she needed the cash to put her children through
college.
The latest news is that Salinger's daughter will
be publishing her memoirs next year. Salinger
must be thrilled. A man who has shunned pub-
licity for over 30 years and who has refused to
publish books because he can't stand "playing
the corporate game" now sees his name in print
more than ever.
It can be argued that Salinger, by his writings,
is a public figure and has no right to complain
about tell -all memoirs. But is a man who hasn't pub-
lished since 1966, granted no interviews and rarely
been seen in public really a public figure? And should
private love letters be sold to the public? No, and by the
way, who would want to read love letters from a 53 -
year -old man written to an 18 -year-old girl? Not me.
Apd the situation is only going to get worse. New digi-
tal technology allows directors to place famous dead
people in new commercials. Fred Astaire now sells vac-
uum cleaners. I can't wait until Elvis Presley appears in
a McDonald's commercial and Janis Joplin shows up in
a Southern Comfort ad.
Here's a word to those money -hungry people who
want to cash in on a famous person's name or work or
image --- hey, these people are dead. Have a heart and
leave them alone. 144:.1. 4f4
SCOTT
NIXON
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