Loading...
Times Advocate, 1999-07-28, Page 8Opinion&Forum Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday. July 28. 1999 Remember when... On June 30 to July 2, 2000, South Huron District High School will celebrate its 50th Anniversary. The Exeter Times Advocate would like to join in the celebrations by sharing articles or pictures which have appeared over the years. YEARS 1936 Hazel Westcott dropped into the Times Advocate this past week with this news arti- cle. Her personal story which coincides with this story was very interesting. There will definitely be a lot of stories similar to this one at the Reunion next year. Westcott is really excited about the upcom- ing reunion. "All my kids are coming," stated Westcott. "It is going, to be a great weekend," she added. � • The 1 Ith annual Huron County Amateur Association track and field meet for pupils of Exeter High School, Goderich C.I., Seaforth C.I., Mitchell High School and Hensall Continuation School; was held at Exeter. Some of the winners are shown in the above photographs snapped by a Free Press cameraman. In the upper picture is the finish of the senior girls' 100 yard dash. Helen Archer, of Goderich, the winner of the event, is shown third from the Ieft.V. Fremlin of Clinton on the left was second and jean Cole, Mitchell, fourth from the left was third in a close finish.The lower action picture shows W.Westgate of Goderich, winning the inter- mediate pole vault. He was the individual interme- diate champion. In the upper insert, is W. Fahner, Exeter, junior boys' champion, and in the lower insert, Hazel Hern, Exeter, junior girls' champion. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT' THE SHDHS "ALL -YEARS REUNION" CONTACT KI?NDRA ARTHUR 235-4006 (H) OR 235-4587 (W).. OR PAT ROwE 236-7167 OPINIONS AND LETTERS Coachsays thanks Dear Editor: The Purple Rockets completed the 1999 season as co -champions of the league going undefeated over three games of the wind-up tournament, unable to play the fourth and final game due to un -cooperative weather. The Rockets had a great season in large part due to the excellent support and help of all the parents of the children on the team - thank you all! The following members of the Rockets were a joy to coach and deserve the success they had due to their 100 percent commitment and effort put forth all sea- son: Jake (the Hammer) Hern, Grayson (Grapes) Homuth, Brandon (Rookie of the Year) Coleman, Molly (McGwire) Hunter, Jordan (Jordy) Skochinski, Luke (Luker) Kennedy, Karly (Clutch -hitter) Bryson, Steve (Magic) Morgan, Tyler (Wheels) Bryson, Mike (The Glove ) Vangerwen, Staci (Line -drive) Miller. n .2ai' � + Ross BRYSON, ri`t•'k irk ii gi *�:.'sst ..-a`t`e• .r#i r°.,. trple Rockets coach. .The International Scene by Guest Columnist Raymond Canon .Working the Internet When I started writing articles back in the 1950's, I sent them off by mail and hoed that they arrived. In the 1980's I took a anturri leas in getting myarti- cles� P g g to their rightful place. One of my duties was to write an editorial 5-6 times a week for the Stratford Beacon -Herald which provided me with a portable word -processor connected to the phone line. I typed the editorial, proofread it and sent it via the phone 1* line to the newspaper's computer in Stratford. When the editor arrived, he called it up on his screen and took it from there. What a real improvement from the old .typewriter + 6iail routine! I now do my writing sitting in front of a computer flanked by a printer and a scanner. The thought occurred to me that this equkpment might earn some . additional income but I -mist admit that the first opportunity arrived much more quickly than expect -- ed. I came across some .into . on the Swiss air force provided by an British company and noticed a couple of small errors. Off went a correction to the compa- ny; in short order a reply came back thanking me and asking me if I could. upgrade this force's history going back to 1914. I accepted and the next three weeks were dedicated to just that. Not all assign- ments have come as easily as that one. But two thoughts occurred to me. (1) more people are opting for the self-employment route as they come to terms with the rapid economic changes tak- lig place in our society and (2) they are realizing the advantages that the Internet provides in marketing their services or products. To give you an idea of how some people are actually going about this, I started looking for a good example. Again one dropped into my lap totally unexpectedly and I had my material. The personinquestion is Karen Brown who lives in Exeter. She, was previously general manager of the London Downtown Business Association but the changes in the nature of the Business Improvement Areas made her job redundant. As a single parent with two growing daughters, she looked around for something that would keep her closer to home. Having worked with her mother to find proper uten- sils for use in the kitchen, she realized how difficult it was to find ones that could be used more easily by those people facing some physical challenges such as MS, stroke or arthritis. Providing a supply to this demand proved to be the challenge she was looking for and so her company, Help Mates, was born. Not only does Help • Mates sell .tools to make kitchen chores more manageable, visitors to the site will also discover items fp assist with other everyday tasks such as dressing, grooming and even maintaining social activities. She soon realized that the demand for such utensils Was truly international. To date she has, on her web site, received hits from as far away as Japan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Australia and all over Europe. Not surprisingly, the largest single number of inquiries come from the US.; these international inquiries make up from - to - of all her hits. It is fair, to say that only the Internet could have given Karen such a broad spectrum of potential customers. She has been helped, too, by such places as rehab cen- tres. I asked Karen if she had any advice for people thinking •of using the Internet for such businesses. Her answer was that it would be especially suitable Job interviews If you have been asked to come in for an inter- view, congratulate yourself. You have made it through the first screening process. Now is your 3hance to present your skills to the employer and how how you are the right person for the job. The key to a successful interview is preparation. Yes, you can prepare for an interview. In order to prepare for an interview, first learn as much as you can about the job and business/organization before the interview. Find out if they have a web site or ask some family or friends. These sources can give you some very valuable information. Secondly, put yourself in the employer's position. What qualities would you look for in an employee? What types of questions would you ask in an interview? Some common questions USA generally asked in an inter- EAGLESQN view are: Why are you inter- suruiEe ested in this job? What, skills EMPLO do you have to offer the job? OFFICER and What are your strengths and weaknesses? Practice answering these ques- tions out loud to a friend. Remember to incorpo- rate your many skills and experiences into your answers. The more you practice for an interview the less nervous you will feel and the more confi- dent you will become. - Here are some valuable tips for a good inter- view: • Arrive for the interview.10-15 minute early and dress to impress. ' ,.4.0• ;1 X - • Introduce yourself to the employer and remember to shake the employer's hand before j . and after the interview. • Remember to bring: an extra copy of your resume, references and your Social Insurance Number. +_ Listen carefully to the questions and answer *Emit clearly. and honestly. • Have questions prepared to ask the employer. only ask suitable questions that will make, a good impression. . • The more interviews you have the more expe- rienced you will become. Just remember, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression, so be prepared! for niche products or services. Once you have a web site, it is important to maintain an up-to-date ser- vice, providing the variety that keeps it from growing stale. It is also essential to constantly incorporate lessons learned from previous transactions, to add or delete items wherever necessary. With Karen's entrepreneurial spirit, it is easy to see why she is a natural for the Internet. If her product line interests you, why not give her a call at 1-888-771-0977 or email - sales@helpmates.on.ca. Better yet, visit the catalogue on line at <www.helpmates.on.ca> A Point to Ponder Dear Cassius, Are you still working on the Y 2 K problem? This change from BC to AD is giving us a lot of headaches and we haven't much time left. I don't know how peo- ple will cope with working the wrong way around. Having been working happily downwards forever, now we have to start thinking upwards. You would think that someone would have thought of it earlier and not left it to us to sort out at the last minute. I spoke to Caesar the other evening. He was livid that Julius hadn't done something about it when he was sort- ing out the calendar. He said he could see why Brutus turned nasty. We called in the consulting astrologers, but they simply said that. continuing downwards using minus BC won't work. As usual, the consultants charged a fortune for doing nothing useful. As for myself, I just • can't see the sand in an hourglass flowing RE/. VERNON DEAN PONVT TO upwards. PONDER We have heard that there are 3 wise guys th the east working on the problem, but unfortu- nately they won't arrive till it's all over. Some say the world will cease to exist at the moment of transition. Anyway we are continuing to work on this blasted Y zero K problem and I will send you a parchment if any- thing ftirther develops. Pluntonius.