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Times Advocate, 1999-08-11, Page 8Wednesday,August 11, 1999. limiter Times. Advocate 7 1 OYEARS AGO August 9, 1989 - In recognition Olds 40 years in hockey, Jim F'eeman of Lucan recently received the prestigious gold stick award, the highest award given by the OHA. The 17th annual Friedsburg Days in Dashwood were again successful with excellent weath- er. The new Queen is Amy Relouw. She was crowned by last year's winner Jeni Hayter. -2OYEARS AGO • August 8, 1979 - The Milverton Suns won the Ontario senior ladies fastball championship over the weekend with four straight wins in a tournament in Straffordville. -Lynne Farquhar of Exeter Is a valu- able member of the Milverton team. Bill McLaren of London is the new works supervi- sor in Hensall. He replaces Gary Maxwell who has taken a position in Grand Bend. With ideal weather conditions prevailing, more= than 3,000 persons attended the weekend Friedsburg Days in Dashwood. April Gunness of Parkhill was named Queen. Runners up were Cindy Thompson and Barb Orr. 35YEARS AGO August 12, 1964 - Bert Clark of Exeter suffered the loss of one eye and a badly severed nose and other facial lacerations when he fell through the glass in the front door of Huntley's Drug Store. The Dashwood Hotel, used as a grain storage building for some time, will be renovated in the near future following the granting of liquor licences by the . Ontario Liquor Board. Quick action by the Exeter fire brigade prevented flames from doing serious damage to an Exeter home owned by Mrs. Ludwig Schultz of Hillsgreen, when fire broke out at noon, Saturday. A record group of 104 campers attended the third annual Boom's Kin Camp at Goderich Summer School last week. Despite the fact it rained for four days and a "flu bug" had 21 on the sick list one day, the kids apparently enjoyed themselves. Directing tiunnp was Gravett's final duty as Exeter's Rec Director.:, . 40YEARS AGO: August.11, 1959 Mrs. John Fletcher of Albert Street, who will be 94 years of age on Fridayhas begun to celebrate early. On Sunday she visited her brother_ Ed Francis in Croswell, Michigan. Four children who were presented with Bibles for outstanding assistance at the Vacation Bible School at Exeter Pentecostal Church are Lorraine Bradley, John Richards, Larry Stire and David Parker.., Charlie Wong who has been at the Exeter Grill for the past five Years, left Tuesday to become a partner with his brother in the operation of the Aero Grill in Kingston. It is expected that close to 500 children will be participating in 'the Lake Huron Zone Recreation Council's first Play Day that will take place in the Exeter Park on August 14. 5OYEARS AGO August 9, 1944 - Approximately $875 was real- ized for the Lions club hospital fund at the concert and draw at Lakeview Casino in Grand Bend Saturday night. Eric Mcllroysaid it was a record benefit performance. Exeter council voted to build new rest rooms to be housed in a separate cement building behind the town hall. Dedication of the new Church of God at Grand Bend will take place this Sunday. . The first band tattoo held around here in some time drew a large crowd of 1,500 people at Kirkton Community Park, Tuesday night. It was sponsored by the Woodham fife and drum band. 75 YEARS AGO August 10, 1924 - Mabel and Viola Austin were both married on the same afternoon, one at Caven Presbyterian Church and the other at Thames Road Church to Charles Little and Mansfield Cooper. William McDougall Jr. residing a couple of miles southwest of Hensall cght a bald-headed eagle making off with one of his chickens. The bird mea- sured six feet, six inches from Up to tip of the wings. Fire, caused by a spark from the threshing engine igniting some loose straw at the side of the barn, from there spreading up to the straw stack, totally destroyed the fine hank barn of Milne Rader, north of Dashwood. ROSS HAUGH BACK Ml TIME 4144.4 LETTERS TO THE EDI EOR & OPINIONS Will the carnage continue? Dear Editor: Re: 0.P.P. crackdown on aggressive drivers on Hwy 401. • I am a retired member of the O.P.P. with 30 years experience in cracking down on aggressive drivers. I would like to share some of my observations with your readers. During the 1960's and 1970's, my fellow officers and I used every available method to get the message to the motoring public that speed kills. .This included the use of radar, aircraft and risking our lives to pace offend- ers. The result: the speed limit on the 401 was increased from 60 miles per hour to 70 miles per hour as the politicians felt that most vehicles were doing that speed anyhow. Many lives were lost due to this increase. Then I was posted to the Northwest portion of Middlesex County where I spent the last 20 years try- ing. to make those area roads free of aggressive dri- vers, including the Grand Bend party animals. Many local residents would complain about speeding and aggressive drivers near their homes. We would respond by setting up radar and R.I.D.E. checks. The result: many: of those roads have had their speed lim- its increased from 80 to 90 kilometres per hour. Even some lower speed zones in the small towns and vil- lages have been raised oreliminated. Since my 'retirement, I have been working as a pro- fessional highway coach driver. About the same time as I retired, a new method of nabbing speeders came into being. Photo radar was just beginning to make a very noticeable reduction in the speed and actions of aggressive drivers when it was axed In a vote -get ting stroke of a pen. The result: The road rage increased as did the aggressiveness of those individuals using the highways. There are also those. out 'there who think that there should be a higher (or none at all) speed limit on the 401. Then there are also those who feel it is their God- given right to exceed the posted limit, even if it were a zillion kilometres per hour. All this, coupled with the reduction in the. number of officers actually patrolling the highways and the dos- ing of O.P.P. detachments makes me wonder if .the lat- est "crackdown" is going to accomplish the results we expect or will the speed limit be increased again and the carnage continue? W.M:(WALLv) GRAY, Retired O.P.P. Officer Grand Bend, Ontario rite those protest Ietters Dear Editor: This past June 30 the British Columbia Suprente Court ruled in the John Robin Sharpe case, that a per- son has the right to own child pornography. The Court based this decision on the freedom -of -expression clause in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Despite 'the ruling, Justice Minister Anne McLellan has stated that the federal government will wait until the Supreme Court of Canada rules on the case, before deciding what is to be done. It is possible that the Supreme Court of Canada may support the B.C. Supreme Court ruling, and legalize ownership ' of child porn. Child advocates say that the simple possession of child pornography can be harmful to children. First, the use of actual children in pornography constitutes child abuse. Second, pedophiles sometimes entice chil- dren by showing them child pornography, claiming that such activity is "normal". And third, recent research suggests that most child pornography circu- lates for free through the Internet. Legalizing posses- sion would essentially protect this form of kiddie porn distribution. We at WatchDog are asking readers to write protest letters asking that the "notwithstanding clause" be used to override the ruling. Readers wanting more information on this problem can contact us at WatchDog Newsletter, 247 Leeds Drive, Fredericton, NB, E3B 457, or by e-mail at dmurrell@unb.ca, or by fax at (506) 454-8245. Sincerely, IMvm Minn. Editor and Publisher Watchdog Newsletter Matter of pride TORONTO -- Despite win- ning an election in June say- ing he needed to complete unfinished business, Premier Mike Harris is in no hurry to get on with the job. The Progressive Conservative premier said during the election campaign that his Common Sense Revolution still required fin- ishing touchs and listed some he felt urgent. These included removing mentally ill people, panhandlers and squeegee kids from streets, introducing .a patients' bill of rights as protec- tion against :dramatic shortages in health care, cracking down on polluters by doubling fines and having more privatization. But Harris is not rushing to call the legisla- ture together to start working on any of them. He has not had the legislature sit since early May just before he called the election, and has no plan to recall it before fall. Worse, Harris has had the legislature sit only a meagre seven days so far in 1999, starting In late April, and then merely so he could intro- duce .a throne speech and budget containing tax cuts to launch him into the .election. Throne speeches and budgets unveiled in the legislature are given more coverage by news media than mere announcements made out- side. Most other 'Canadian governments have -had their legislatures sit much longer than Harris has this, year. As one contrast, the federal Liberals, whom Harris's Tories like to dispar- age, have had the Commons open for business on 73 days -so far in 1999. There is no reason a premier cannot call a legislature back much more rapidly after an election. As an example, the last previous Tory premier, Frank Miller, won an election in May and even though he lost his majority was back in the legislature facing his hungry opponents in June. There also is no doubt why .Harris has kept the legislature from sitting for so much of this year. Before the election, he wanted to avoid being subjected to, and embarrassed by, daily questions in it from -the opposition parties in the months leading to the vote. Harris underfed his motive -because, even when he brought back the legislature at long last for seven days to get his desired publicity, . . he turned up at only one of its question peri- ods, so : opponents still had barely a chance to lay a glove on him. By keeping the legislature closed until fall, Harris will put off renewing arguments with Liberal leader. Dalton McGuinty and his bump- tious MPPs, who are pleased with themselves because they won more seats in a smaller leg- islature and straining at the bit to get at him. Having recently shuffled his cabinet, Harris is giving' new ministers more time to .inform themselves before they face questions. He also will give himself more time to firm up some of his promises in the election, which he had dif- ficulty explaining fully at the time. ' Some may :argue that Harris deserves anoth- er four months' break from thelegislature, because he had an exhausting month of elec- tion campaigning beginning in May. But these exertions were on behalf of his party, not the taxpayers who pay his salary, so his party should pay for his extended holiday. Harris should be back earlier to fulfil his promises. If there is a need to get mentally ill people off thgstreets, it should not be delayed. He should get back earlier because the legis- lature employs many public servants who, when It closes, do nothing or little , or don't come in and still get paid, and Harris is above all dedicated to cutting waste. Harris also for four years has promisedTa law that would require budgets will be balanced or cabinets will have their pay cut and: it has become a symbol that he does not mess around. But it still is not approved, because he brought it Into the legislature too lat©' and knew he would call an election before passing it. If for no other reason, he should come back quickly and pass the law as a matter of pride. ERIC DO WD AVIEW FROM QUEEN'S PARK