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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1999-07-21, Page 7Wednesday, July 21, 1999 Exeter Times—Advocate 7 Opini e n&Forum I OYEARS AGO July 19, 1989 - The grand champion turtle in the weekend Ailsa Craig turtle races was Mitch's Monster, owned by Judy Ellis of Lucan. 20 YEARS AGO July 18,1979 - It was a "ruff' decision to make, but Grand Bend council decided that they couldn't give dog catcher Donna Aitken any more money for funding our four -footed friends. 'She is barking up the wrong tree,' said councillor Keith Crawford. Aitken was asking for an increase in the amount she receives for writing each ticket. 35YEARS AGO July 19, 14)64 - Exeter council Monday night agreed to ask engineeer B.M. Ross to provide tenta- tive figures for the best and most feasible way of extending sanitary sewers into the industrial area east of Highway 4 and south of highway 83. Aided by the fine weather of the past few days,workmen are making rapid progress on Exeter's new swimming pool. Opening date has been predicted for the end of August. Pete and Jeffrey Culbert of Lucan were dressed appropriately in cat costumes for their rendition of the "Pussy Cat Song" at the Kirkton Garden Party, Wednesday. The Garden Party marked the 20th anniversary with fine weather predicted by Lee Paul. Over 4,000 were in attendance. There were 17 entries in the juvenile programme. The townships of Stanley and Tuckersmith will employ a "shuttle system" to give many of their ele- mentary, school students the advantage of graded education. 40YEARS AGO July 17, 1959 - Grand Bend toasts TV celebrity Joyce Hahn today. The petite star of "Cross Canada Hit Parade" will be guest of honour at a mammoth parade and variety show on the beach. Huron County picked a "natural" for a dairy princess Tuesday night. She is attractive Pat Marshall, daughter of Kirkton dairy farmers, Mr. and Mrs. Ross Marshall. Pat will represent the coun- ty in a province wide dairy queen competition at the CNE this fall. Confronted with a report that arsenic has been found in drainage water, the Huron County Health Unit has been requested to determine the source of the poisoning which has already killed one cattle beast. General Coach Works of Hensall has introduced a new model in its economy line. The new home is 33 feet,10 feet wide, two bedroom model with a sug- gested retail price of $3,995. Exeter town council agreed upon a compromise Monday night when it decided to raise the speed limit on No. 83 highway. Members approved 30 and 40 mph zones inside the town, rather than 50 and 40 areas suggested by a traffic analyst. 50YEARS AGO July 18, 1949 - A record breaking crowd of between three and four hundred witnessed a thrill packed racing meet at the community park Wednesday afternoon. Two thousand small -mouthed bass were placed in the Ausable River just above the Exeter Dam recent- ly at the request of the Exeter Gun and Conservation Club. All the schools in the area have been visited by members of the Exeter Lions Club who have taped all bicycles with safety illuminating tape. Teachers Gordon Koch, Morley Sanders, Eugene Howey and Cecil Wilson have been marking depart- mental papers in Toronto for a month. , 75YEARS AGO July 19, 1924 - The Central Hotel which was pur- chased some time ago by Mr. Chester Lee of Paisley, from W.T. Acheson passed to the hands of its new proprietor. The face of the town clock has been painted white and the figures on the dial have been painted black. This week electric ,lights have been installeu and the clock is plainly visible at night. It makes for a very decided improvement. After an illness of many months duration the death of Mrs. Clara Anderson, one of Centralia's most highly esteemed and respected citizens occurred at the home of her daughter. Mrs. Anderson was one of the pioneers of the communi- ty, coming from England 12 years ago and living the rest of her life in Centralia. BACK IN TIME LETTERS TO THE EDITOR & OPINIONS Government has to get tougher on crimes S,ith guns Dear editor, Incidents in the US often have ramifications here in Canada, and no where is that more evident than in recent hand -gun -related violence. As the Americans are embroiled in a gun -control dilemma, perhaps it is time for Canada to review its gun laws. Taber and Triple Creek, Alberta incidents and a local Toronto McDonalds are but three incidents that have received recent prominent press coverage and serve to remind all of us that no neighbourhood is exclusive of this unnecessary violence. Guns symbolize only one thing: destruction, in either hurting or killing! Possessing a gun becomes the first, if not, the only resort to anything troublesome by its owner! No Canadian citizen should ever need a hand gun! Rather more support for local police forces, neigh- bourhood Watch and community and school education programs should be emphasized. The government should restrict the sale of hand guns to law-enforce- ment institutions and stiffen the mandatory jail sen- tence for any crime committed with a gun. J. SHIPTON 26 Wildlark Drive, West Hill, Ontario Teenage boys, cars and death "No more teachers, no more books" goes the refrain; school is out and it is the time for summer holidays. Time to boogy and celebrate. The year-end parties of teens have a dangerous mixture of fun, booze and fast cars. Five young men lost their lives one morning on a deserted highway .outside of Kanata, Ontario. Drink a few beers, laugh a little, tell a few jokes, flirt with a few girls and jump in the car for a fast drive home. The majority of the fatalities originate in the country- side, small towns and villages. Ingersoll, Glencoe, Lambeth, Mount Brydges and Komoka do not have bus service for late evening revellers. I doubt if the kids would use the buses even if they were available. Underage drinking, smoking up, smooching are no no's in our adult society. The solution for the teenaged party seekers is found in the family car or pickup. Pack as many friends into the back seat and, eureka, you are free to party on, no worry about parents' disapprovals and little chance of being apprehended by the police. Our society has equated good times and happiness with the drinking of alcohol. You can't have fun unless you join the crowd and toss a couple down to chill out. To ask for a glass of pop ain't cool. If you can drink a six pack then you can relax and be accepted by your peers. The television and movie screens have set the norms for society's perception of acceptable behaviour. The beauty movie queen and her handsome escort drink a champagne cocktail or two and dance off in perfect har- mony and grace. Our teens' choice of beverages lends itself to cheap mickies of rye and gin with a couple of beers. The kids' best case scenario is a little buzz, chucking up or a headache the morning after. Tragically too many of our kids die in flames or become paraplegics as a result of their actions. It is every parent's nightmare that they may be called in the middle of the night by the police that their son/daughter is in the hospital's critical care unit. As a parent and counsellor, I can sympathize with the grief and ter- ror that parents endure. 1 still shake when I recall a 3 a.m. phone call from a parent that their son and his girlfriend had been killed while tryin.g to thread the needle of the walkway on the Richmond Street bridge. The parents of "Bob" and his girlfriend "Heather" were called to tell them of the tragedy. The accident had disfigured the victims and the coroner needed to examine the dental records. "Mary" had taken her friend's place for a last ride home. I arrived at the funeral home with all of the teens and like them, I wept for the lives that were wasted. It was a terrible moment for all. What do you say to the parents and the kids. "Sorry" seemed so inadequate a response. Teens never see themselves as dying. We old folks, 30 to 80, are supposed to take their places in the morgues and cemeteries. LEONARD LESSER COUNSELLOR See TEENAGE BOYS Page 8 Aggression and attack TORONTO -- Dalton McGuinty appears to have taken one of those courses on how to be assertive, the type that often advertised showing a picture of Mrs. Thatcher. Or maybe no-one has told the Liberal leader the election is over, because he has yet to let up on using fighting words. McGuinty lost to Progressive Conservative Premier Mike Harris, who won a second majority, and most losing leaders say humbly that they accept the verdict of voters and even wish the victor well in a difficult task or, if defeated badly, talk of resigning, and virtually all hibernate for a few weeks. McGuinty has done none of these things. He has one major difference in that he was not beaten badly, because he increased the Liberals' share of the vote from 31 to nearly 40 per cent and gained five seats. His aggression stands out also because of its con- trast to Harris, who used to be noted for picking fights, but claimed after the election he is willing to talk and listen to even those who opposed him. Harris may merely be posing as kinder and gen- tler and will need to prove he is listening by changing some policies, but at least his most aggressive thrust since the vote has been to cut a chocolate cake to mark a tax cut. McGuinty sounds as if he has not left his .cam- paign bus. He warned Harris not to view his 45 per cent of the vote as a mandate to bring in more right-wing policies, although few recent govern- ments have had such high support. McGuinty said he will lead the fight on behalf of the "overwhelming majority of residents who voted against Harris." The Liberal leader scoffed "some are inclined to say that we can expect to see a new Mike Harris, kinder and gentler, but I don't believe it." He said he knows the premier from sitting oppo- site him in the legislature and "Mike Harris is Mike Harris is Mike Harris." Saying he expects Harris will try to make new cuts in health care and education and continue borrowing so he can cut taxes, McGuinty promises to fight him on these. McGuinty threatened to provide against Harris "the very best opposition that any opposition party has ever put forward." When Harris announced a bigger post-election cabinet, McGuinty sneered that it was "more peo- ple to cause more damage." The Liberal leader marched in the annual Gay Pride parade in Toronto, said this showed his Ontario includes gays and lesbians and taunted Harris to join and prove that his, too, is "truly rep- resentative and inclusive." Harris is no more likely to march in a gay parade than he is in a union rally. McGuinty named Sandra Pupatello as deputy leader. promoting his most consistently aggressive MPP who once said intemperately that Harris is like Adolf Hitler in that both profess to love refer- enda to solve issues. McGuinty usurped the premier's normal role by calling on Ontarians to donate blood in the sum- mer shortage instead of asking Harris to make a plea. McGuinty also showed some pugnacity toward his own party when he warned, somewhat arro- gantly, that he "will not tolerate any excessive introspection, navel -gazing and miring ourselves in the past," meaning how he ran his campaign. Many parties automatically review a leader's post after losing an election. McGuinty has become aggressive first because he appears to have been thoroughly cheered and exhilarated by the support he got in the election. He gave Harris a closer race than most expected. The results showed him and others that he belonged in the same ring, which many doubted, and he sounded more confident oddly on election night after his loss than he ever did in the cam- paign. The result made him realize he is a strong contender. McGuinty also needs to look aggressive to show that he is leading his party with vigour and to stifle thoughts of replacing him, which asually exist in any party after a defeat. He recognizes that the best defence is attack, which means attacking Harris. A VIEW QUEEN'S� PARK