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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1999-08-04, Page 7. Wednesday,August 4, 1999 Exeter Times -Advocate 7 Opinion&Forum OYEARS AGO August 2, 1989 - PUC manag- er Hugh Davis is puzzled. told the regular July meeting the Commission that the amount of money in arrears on the latest hydro billing is the highest ever, and he knows of no reason for this. The Times Advocate placed first in the annual advertising awards competition. More than 100 persons atten" ed Saturday's suc- cessful launch of a campaign to establish a Wheels to' Nature program at Rock Glen. Wheels to Nature will provide wheelchair accessability to many of the trails at the Rock Glen Conservation Area. 20YEARS AGO August 1, 1979 - After an absence of over three years, the bum of productivity will soon be heard at the former Maple Leaf Mills plant on John Street in Exeter. Sybren DeBoer, a resident of the com- munity for more than 10 years, announced plans this week to open a processing plant for knitted fil- ters and he and his son, Andrew have already started on that project. Concerns for the needs of a number of. Vietnamese refugees expected in Huron County- has resulted in the membership of the local Christian Reformed Church agreeing to sponsor two families. John Anderson with 50 straight hits led the 19 competitors at Monday's regular shoot of the Kippen gun club. Champion fiddler Willis Desjardine of Shipka has won another prize. This time he was tops in the 35 to 49 age category last weekend in Bobcaygeon. 30YEARS AGO August 2, 1969 - A flash flood swamped Exeter and surrounding townships Thursday with_ between five and ten inches of rain. The ensuing deluge carried cars. and trucks as far as 100 feet down Anne Street. Downtown businesses were hard hit as stock stored in basements was ruineFl. Hundreds of acres of crops in Usborne and Stephen townships were reported to have been totally wiped out. Corn and grain were ripped, into shreds by hail which was as large as marbles and in some locations completely covered the ground. 35 YEARS AGO August 4, 1964 - Exeter ballet students Jo -Ann Whilsmith and Gayle Ecker have won medal hon- ours from the Western Ontario Conservatory of Music. 40 YEARS AGO August 3, 1959 • A big market for turnip grow- ers was assured this week with the announcement that the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company had leased the Centralia plant of Exeter Turnip Sales. Production target for the firm is 500,000 bushels. New prices and new hours will be established by local barbers on August 17. Regular cuts will increase from 85 to 90 cents with brush and crew cuts advanced from 90 cents to one dollar. Children's prices will remain unchanged. SOYEARS AGO August 2, 1949 - A new. firm, Exeter Farm Equipment , has been established in the village to .ice over the J.I. Case agency formerly handled by. Snell Bros. Dick Jermyn, a native of Granton is proprietor of the new firm. Local photographer Jack Doerr has been invited to join a panel of judges to pick prize winning pho- tographs at Western Fair. 60YEARS AGO August 3, 1939 - Charles Ford of London was filming footage of Exeter's "old swimming hole", to compare it with more up-to-date city pools. The area's popular swimming hole was east of Exeter running through J.G. Dow's farm on the Aux Sable River. 75 YEARS AGO August 4; 1924 -A $7,000 bylaw to provide funds for an addition to Exeter High School was passed by council. Dr. Moir of Hensall has purchased the farm of Mr. John Bell, a mile south of the village of Hensall. 110 YEARS AGO August 2, 1989 - The Lucan Gossip began publi- cation in that village this week. The Advocate judged it to be a "newsy sheet" and no doubt admired its Conservative politics. The Exeter Times is the local Liberal paper. ROSS HAUGH BACK IN TIME LETTERS TO THE EDITOR & OPINIONS No Canada Day celebrations for year 2000? Dear Editor: Why not? "This year's Canada Day fireworks demonstration was the best display to date!" say many local and surrounding area residents. Each year a group of approximately eight local individuals get together months in advance to plan and coordinate a program of entertainment and special events to make a success of the July 1st holiday celebrations in Grand Bend. Everything from arranging for costly musical entertainers, advertising in papers, on radio and television, buy- ing flags for people to wave proudly, and most of all, providing for a spectacular and safe fireworks display are the job of this handful of volunteers. And who is it for? Well, of course, it's for the thousands of people who swarm into Grand Bend for the Canada Day holiday celebration. But there's the point. Why attract all those people to Grand Bend tc see our celebration? It's good for business, that's why! Who benefits? Who pays? Unfortunately too many people, including business people in Grand Bend, presume that the event is staged and funded by the Village of Grand Bend. It's not! Not one cent is provided by the local municipal council; they just give us permission to use the beach that now belongs to the taxpayers of the Village. It is you - the residents and local merchants - upon whose contributions we depend to make this event a suc- cess or failure. An unusually low response from local businesses to requests for contributions left us far short in funding this year's event; without your help we will not be able to stage Canada Day fireworks next year for the year 2000. Many area merchants did contribute this year! To those mer- chants who have shown in this way that they understand how this celebration is made possible, the committee expresses our deepest gratitude. The event, this year, cost approximately $21,000. Collections and contributions fell substantially short of that figure. The nine individuals who organized this event and who have already donat- ed hundreds of hours of time and effort, are cer- tainly incapable of making up the shortfall from their own pockets. We need your help. While the volunteer pyrotechn1cians, who do this.. every year as a labour of love, would like to continue the pro- gram in the year 2000; without your immediate financial help, it may not be possible. The Canada Day fireworks celebration brings thousands of local and area residents to our town - potential customers for local merchants - poten- tial profit for Grand Bend businesses. We are hop- ing everyone will be able to donate to the fund to discharge this year's deficit and make possible an even greater celebration for the turn of the millen- nium, the year 2000. To make your donation, please. contact Kevin Poole, Canada Day Chair, at 238-8993 or your local Chamber of Commerce at 238-2001. Thank you for assistance, .The Grand Bend Canada Day Committee - , KEN POOLE CHAIRPERSON Thatik: you fro m the hospital Dear Editor: On behalf of the Board of Directors, Staff, Volunteers and Patients of South Huron Hospital a huge thank you to Mart,. Joe. .Barry and all the staff of M & M Meats for your continued- support of South Huron Hospital. .The charity barbecue is a wonderful idea. Sincerely, Dom HOOVER, Chair Board of Governors South' Huron Hospital Association The > G . vv et era 6t a forum � `": , , ' .... i e5, concerns, c4-nniot, and kudos, By mail: P.D. Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1 S6 By fax: (519) 235-0766 By e-mail: ►ditnr(0.)South kip ron.com Please include your name and address. Anonymous letters will not be published. They; 'Fimes-Advocate reserves the right to edit letters Rubbing salt in wounds TORONTO - Premier Mike Harris has been getting a Jot of mileage out of promising to lis- ten to opponents without having delivered anything. The Progressive Conservative premier, after being re-elected in June in a campaign marked by bitter, rowdy demonstrations against 'him, acknowledged there are divisions in society. Harris said he is "prepared to do whatever it takes" to talk in a non -divisive way with those who disagree with him. He also said he will sit down with anyone committed to seeking excellence in areas including healthcare, 'education, public safety and prosperity. Harris more than preceding premiers had refused to meet groups that did not share his views and dismissed them derisively as "special interest groups," while oddly keeping his door open to such as the Chamber of Commerce, a group which has the special interest of making sure its businesses make a profit, which Harris shares. Harris was premier two -and -a -half years before he met unions concerned he was reducing their ability to promote their members' interests. The premier has been prompted by polls showing residents want less confrontation, but even when holding out his olive branch refused to accept any blame for the divisions or conceal his natural bel- ligerence. Harris added others, not his government, created the divisions and repeatedly lied about him without offering solutions of their own. Despite this unpromising start, groups who had been left .out in the cold when Harris's government formulated policies have quickly requested meet- ings. They include organizations representing the homeless, low-income families, mental patients, injured workers, pensioners concerned about homecare and diose looking for co-operative hous- ing. e'Y h were ignored, dismissed and even arrested at times when they over -exuberantly tried to express .their concerns to Harris and they said they hope he is sincere in being willing to collaborate with them now. Some ministers have quickly arranged meetings. Janet Ecker, whom Harris appointed minister of education after the election and who is astute in public relations as one of his former longtime p.r. aides, phoned leaders of teachers' unions offering to meet, which almost floored them and led one to say it has hopes of a more compassionate and con- sultative approach. The new labor minister, Chris Stockwell, has met Sid Ryan, president of the Ontario division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the province's most aggressive unionist, and they man- aged to avoid rancor. All this has prompted rave reviews by many observers that this is a turning point and Harris and his Tories have started to listen and switched from confrontation to consultation and the pitbulls are friendly puppies. But Harris's government by saying it will listen also has implied it will seriously consider concerns arid alternatives raised and even incorporate some in its programs at times. Harris has not had time to do much of this yet. But Harris in addition has not looked particularly kinder and gentler in his few acts since the elec- tion, which include appointing two hawks to key ministries and firing a deputy minister viewed as approachable by teachers. Harris also has insisted he will press on with pro- grams he has already promised, which include re- testing teachers every 3-5 years to judge whether they are competent and sending those who fail to summer schools to upgrade their skills, which he will not require for other professions. His new labor minister has refused to rule out further undermining unions by allowing employees in and benefitting from unionized workplaces to opt out of paying dues and his attorney -general looked with relish at bringing in a law to charge squeegee kids, who are part of the homeless. Harris has raised expectations by offering to lis- ted to critics and if he refuses to make worthwhile concessions to them, which seems likely,_ he will make them still more hostile and not heal wounds, but rub salt in them. ERIC DOWD A VIEW FROM QUEEN'S PARK