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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1999-12-29, Page 88 ea.an'fYwerA/wcaes • Wednesday, December 29, 1999 Opinion&Forum 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. H! H1GHUGH'TS 1979 - 1986 SH girls win junior H -P Cham lonshi'After gthe Huron-P conference a cham- pionship, Wednesday, the South Huron junior girls' basketball team fell short in the WOSSA AA tournament playoffs this weekend in Tillsonburg. The girls started out on the right foot when they posted a trilling 49-44 overtime win over London Lucas in their opening tilt. Faye Gaiser had 16 points to lead the attack while Leslie Hunter- Duvar had 10. South Huron's Melanie Lovell scored her only basket of the game with two seconds left in regula- tion time to force overtime and Jackie Cottrell and Faye Gaiser each scored in the extra session to nail down the win. Adding points to the winning cause were Maja Gans 9, Jackie Cottrell 4, Cindy Down 8, Melanie Lovell 2. That win sent the girls into the semi-final against Tillsonburg Gemini and they fell three points short with a 41-38 loss. Maja Gans again paced the scoring attack with 13 points, while Faye Gaiser contributed 10. Other scorers: Down 4, Hunter-Duvar 7, Lovell 2, Verbeek 2. The South Huron girls culminated a fine season Wednesday by winning the Huron -Perth Conference Championship in the South Huron gym. The juniors, who went through the regular schedule undefeated, met Stratford Northwestern in a sudden death semi-final . Winning that game 37-27, they -fid a berth in the home and home: finalCe The first game 'of this series was played in Stratford where, for the first time all season in the league, the team emerged on the short end of a 29-17 score. Faye Gaiser led the team with seven points fol- lowed by Maja Gans who had four. A very low 12 percent shooting average from the floor illustrated the difficulty the girls had trying to put the ball in the basket. With their backs to the walk the juniors returned to 'their home court determined to make up the 12 point deficit and go on to win. In the final game they played aggressive ball with a tight man-to- man an to - man defence which caused Central to lose posses- sion often. By the halt down now only by a single basket, the team sensed a victory, and continued their strong play, taking the lead early in the third quar- ter. This lead was never relinquished. The game ended 31-11 for South Huron and the combined two game score was 48-40 which gave the locals the tide. Ma ja Gans who put up 19 points was the out - player on the floor, Cindy Down played an defensive game especial in rebound- ing and also scored seven points. Faye Geiser, who was the team's leading scorer over the season, added four and Leslie Hunter- Duvar, the team's floor leader, put in two. Brenda Bell and rookie Jackie Cottrell also deserve men- tion for their fine efforts. The team's league record was 10-0 and the over- all record was 20-6. The scoring for the season was as follows for each player: Brenda Bell 15, Dana Bozzato 8, Jackie Cottrell 18, Nellie DeKoker 6, Cindy Down 88, Janet Ferguson 17. Faye Geiser 259, Mgja Gans 220, Leslie Hunter- Duvar 128, Starr Jesney 13, Melanie Lovell 13, Joanne Miller 8, Janet Pfaff 9, Barb Skinner 36, Charlene Verbeek 50. ADDRESSES NITDED! Address for, i is ave u/able it: • AIM • Times Advocate • • RSD Authentics • E-\eter Town Hell • SHDHS or visit our web site at WWW.dvonf llaitland.on.ca click onto South Huron J iiONS AND LETTERS Condnusd from pogo 7 Make things grow Community use of exis g board rooms will be allo- cated on a second priority basis after OMAFRA's own use if the board room has not been turned into office space or some other use. There was no ques- tion or answer as to how many meeting rooms would be retained. One of the final questioners of the day reminded the meeting that the government that we have to- day, promised in their election promise of 1995 that OMAFRA would not be cut. This question led into the summing up of the meeting. HCFA President Pat Down, as chair, reminded the meeting several times that some of the questions were more political than organizational. In the end she challenged the groups represented to go the political route to save the services that the rural community wants. She compared the infra- structure (buses, subways, and streetcars) that Toronto has to the rural infrastructure which is very different. Rural Ontario believes that OMAFRA field offices and extension service is part of our very spe- cial, unique infrastructure that we do not want to lose. Just because lots of people don't use the Toronto subway is no reason to shut it down. Lots of other people do use it and society chooses to sub- sidize it. She pointed out that our society was built on the principal of using taxes to support common interests that the electorate values. Governments collect taxes that are used collectively for the better- ment of all. She stressed that urban and rural taxes should be used for the common good. Mrs. Down asked for support in telling our government mem- bers that we can no longer afford the tax cuts that they have been handing us. These cuts are bleeding our communities dry, destroying our infrastructure and our services. While holding to her opening remarks to not shoot the messengers, she did chal- lenge the members of the rural organizations to get moving and start lobbying to save what they believe is the best of the extension service as we know it. HCFA members helped hand out red ribbons sym- bolizing the need to stop the tax cuts and green rib- bons to stand for reinvesting in rural Ontario where we do know how to make things grow. PAT DowN Please celebrate safely Dear Editor: Drinking and driving don't mix. That message should resonate in all homes and communities, but I thought that this poem says it best. I don't know the author, but its message is worth remembering this Holiday season. "I went to a party, Mom, I remembered what you said. You told me not to drink, Mom, so I drank soda instead; I really felt proud inside, Mom, the way you said I would. I didn't drink and drive, Mom, even though the others said I should. I know I did the right thing, Mom, I know you are always right. Now the part is finally ending, Mom, as everyone is driving out of sight. As I got into my car, Mom, I knew I'd get home in one piece. Because of the way you raised me, so responsible and sweet. I started to drive away, Mom, but as I pulled out into the road, The other car didn't see me, Mom, and hit me like a load. As I Iay there on the pavement, Mom, I hear the policeman say, The other guy is drunk, Mom, and now I'm the one who will pay. I'm lying here dying, Mom, I wish you'd get here soon. How could this happen to me, Mom? My life just burst like a balloon. There is blood all around me, Mom, and most of it is mine. I hear the medic say, Mom, I'll die in a short time. I just wanted to tell you, Mom, I swear 1 didn't drink. It was the others, Mom .The others didn't think. He was probably at the same party as I. The only difference is, he drank and I will die. Why do people drink, Mom? It can ruin your whole life. I'm feeling sharp pains now, pains just Bite a knife. The guy who hit me is walking, Mom, and 1 don't think it's fair. I'm lying here dying and all he can do is stare. Tell my brott t to cry, Mom. Tell Daddy to be brave. And when I gu w Heaven, Mom, put "Daddy's Girl" on my grave. Someone should have told him, Mom, not to drink and drive. • If only they had told him, Mons, f would still be alive. My oreath is getting shorter, Mom, I'm getting very scared. Please don't cry for me, Mom. When I needed you, you were always there. I have one last question, Mom, before I say goodbye. I didn't drink and drive, so why am I the one to die?" Please celebrate safely and responsibly this New Year's Eve, and throughout the year_ Sincerely, RosE-MAniR II& Lambtan-Kent-Middlesex Doing the decades Dear Editor'' The Fifties This middle decade of the 1900's was a time for optimism, venturing out scientifically, commercial- ly, occupationally and even governmentally. The war monkey was off our backs and, we hoped, in hibernation. Heavy industries that had been tied to war production were diversifying and linking up with smaller and specific small feeder manufactur- ers and entrepreneurs were coming in for attention. The general mood was one of optimism. Home life changed with an accelerating pace dur- ing the fifties. Television had goneinto a, few homes by the late forties but during the early fifties became a household, necessity. Sales and service shops sprang into business, often in existingradio dealers. All sets were limited to- black. and white but the promise of colour was realized by the next decade. There were no cable suppliers so every home had one or often two aerials. The better ones were of the power -rotor type, so they became almost a status symbol: The first TV to grace our home was purchased from a targe - perhaps a dozen - on view at the London Western Fair about 1953. Big network shows appeared one -by -one the first being Ed Sullivan on Sunday evenings only. The Jack Benny Show, Our Miss Brooks and I Love Lucy followed. The advent of a number of small home appliances took some of the drudgery out of kitchen chores especially. Toasters, without pop-up potential, and irons had been around for some years, but beaters, can openers, automatic toasters, and ovens, waffle irons, blend,' an' electric frying pans came in to common use u. rapid succession but not necessarily in that order. Vacuum cleaners, power Lawn mow- ers, washing machines had added refinements to moreprimitive early models. I received the gift of my first electric shaver in the mid -fifties. The steam iron came along and made pant pressing much easier. Power steering on luxury car models made driving so easy that too many drivers took to the one -hand method, especially in the evening. My new 1954 Plymouth was a driver's dream in over- all quality, but with few miracle gadgets. Road transportation deserves a mention: Super highways, the 400's, were laid or in the pians. Road service and surfaces improved as speed limits increased. Winter plowing and sanding became the general thing, and you didn't have to go searching for a gas station when the gauge said "empty". There was at least one in every non-residential block. Municipally there was a general drift into larger and less local administration areas - a trend that has reached almost beyond (?) a workable limit in this last decade. Personally, I loved the fifties, all of which I spent in London on the Faculty of the Teachers' College. In '52 and again in '56 I was sent on loan to lecture at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia for the sum- mers. Our girls were doing well at school and we loved the new house we had built in '48. In '58 the new Teacher's College was opened up on the Western campus but was not taken over by the province until 1965. All seemed well and at last we were luxuriating on a little better than $1,000 a month - gross. GERRY DOBRINDT