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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1997-10-22, Page 5GLAVIN E:•.FSTROUGHING 1 on the Street by Jim Beckett There's a better way for teachers to get their message to taxpayers Watching teachers take to the street to get their message across is extremely easy for me. All I have to do is look out the window of my office which puts me about three feet away from the protesters. They've gone upland down Main Street, a6out half a dozen, times refently trying to 1 hammer their message home with a shpw of solidarity. • Unfortunately it doesn't seem .to be working in Exeter. I -From what I hear the only thing I the► have accomplished so i l -far id tick off a few of the - 'merchants in the vicinity. of Helen Johns" office. Retailers find it•hard enough these days to attract customers under the best of circumsltances. When customers 1 I have to ti'alk by a group of sign -carrying, slogan -shouting 1 1 people to make a purchase, many suddenly get cold feet and cool off on whatever buying urge they may have had. My humble opinion about demonstrations isl they're a c'ompletewaste of time. For teachers, it's a fdrm of l i i ekpression far beneath what would be expected from professionals. Regardless of I --_-- —�-whethermudiaiyouu_supportl theiti cause as they battle propo.ed changes to the system by the I Hai is government,. it would be logical to expect a better i (form of communication. I After all, teachers are professiona`s, and they're_ - certainly expert cammunicators. Sho&ing''ttey hey ho ho while waving a few signs in the I i air cheapens their image and has definitely erased some of the respect they arelseeking from the public. ii If they -took the same amount of time and effort to have a real dialogue with the public,while holding themselves '-to high professional standards, teachers could do so much better. 1 - As many of them have written on report cards, "results would be better with more effort." .I Putting these skills to work would do much more to bring the public over to their side than parading upland down Main Street. But it's niore- work. It only takes a few minutes to :do your duty on demonstration detail. Virtually 100% of the people I've talked to have had comments far less than flattering after watching the march to Johns'office. Time and energy have been expended to achieve negative results. What would be wrong with personally sending their message to every taxpayer. Rent a hall, invite parents to come and hear their concerns. Teachers should use their communication skills. Taking a professional approach to convince taxpayers teachers have the best interest of students foremost on their adjenda will accomplish far more than all the sign -waving in the world. They do have many valid points 'but they're sorely in need of a better wa y of making them. Give Johns a break. Give her neighbors a break. Give yourselves a,break. Times -Advocate, October 22, 1997 Page 5 After almost 30 years. in businesq Margaret Turnbull from Hotson Lighting in Grand Bend is retiring, She, ;.1 along' with her mother Pearl Hotson started the business in the early 70's, shortly after- a fire destroyed the Ode of the store, forcing .the Hotson family to start the business almost from scratch. . 1: - - Hotson Lighiing Lightingclosing i s W doors after alniost 30 years I • • + i • I • GRAND BEND - From a pro- ?inning a lighting store has been ipanel business, to a hardware store,- satisfying many of the regular cus- -tm-over•coming–a-fire---that-t-nearly-4omers w)to.:frequented _bier -store$_ ,destr9Ypd everything the store - poi- • over the past 20-s9me-odd years. sesseetl. Then.'tinalfy to al lighting "I'll, miss the customers whol boutique until almost 30 years.later have been so good over lhe'years,' into something probably entirdly - Turnbull said. • different- I . _ • • • . • Foi the next two months. Hotson) Thjit hes been the lifetime course , Ligating will `te putting the entirei • of the establishment now Balled stock on sale •ncluding ill:of. the Hotson Lighting, located on High- lamps. lighting fixtures' and gift- way i - way 21 north of Grand Bend. l ware. Tumhull said since the first - Margaret Turnbull with her.moth- . day of the$ sale, the. day after.4ahor er Pearl Hotson started Hotson Day, much of the stock has already Lighting in the early 1970s. By the . been sotdt end of this• December Turnbull will And ever since thin day the prices close the doors for good and'. sell have continued to drop. the business to sonieone'else. • Last week the sale included 20 "I thought it was time- to retire," per cent off all items in' the stove. she-. said: "1 -havle a new grand? This week .all items are on sale at (laughter and I'm going to spend..•30 per cent off. She said as time • time with her. ' progresses. pnces will continue to Turnbull said the best part ,Mout .lower. Home business finds success in lingerie By Chantal) Van Raay T -A Reporter EXETER - Joanne Middleton he- gan sewing almost twenty .years ago. It is a skill she picked. up from her mother as.a little girl. When she bean she usually' only sewed items for • family and friends, until over time people began to recognize her work and asked Middleton if she. would sew articles for them as well. Her work became more popular as more stitches -were sewn until.ti- nally. she decided to make a go at opening up her own business. • • Four years ago she opened up a home business called Elegance and Lace. Despite the name, Middleton said her husiness is not what .many people assume it is,- "It's s, "It's not all garter belts and. ted- dy's and body suits," she said. "I create things for the average per- son, not for the fantasizer." • While Middleton specializes in lingerie; she also does altering. She said once or twice a year she gets .an order to do bridal dresses .'or prom dresses. But still lingerie- is 'her specialty,- simply. because shell saw her business as a necessity. • "1• bought some undergarments one time and the first time 1 washed them they fell .apart. I thought I. can make.lingeyie that won't fall apart," slhe said adding that was the start for het edge towards designing and creasing lingerie. Middleton admitted. the does not know anywhere Else where a home-• basd- lingerie boutique exists and) sees this las one oflthe' aspects that. makes her/ husiness !unique. -Be-- cause she operates out of her home• and everything she Makes is hand- crafted, customer satisfaction is her 'number one concern. • 1 Small Business Week for the booming self-employed HURON COUNTY - Because of job loss, economic restructuring, down-sizin . occupational boredom etc. more people are opening small businesses to find their riche in the • self-employment realm. - The Huron County Small Busi- ness Centre and the Huron 'Business Development Corporation arc rec- ognizing small businesses by dedi- cating October 20 to 24 to Sinal! Business Week. The goals of the Week are to recognize the impor-1 tance of small busittesse`s, celebrate the; achievements of micro - enterprises and encourage entre- preneurship. The Huron Business Centre sees the number of small business in Hu- ron County escalate at a tremendous rate. As stated in a press release from the Huron Business Centre "In 1991, the percentage of micro - enterprise owners was equivalent to 17 per cent (4,853) of the County's active labour force (28,415). When l estimates of the number of employ- ees generated by . micro -enterprises are considered, direct employment generated by this sector is greater ' than 25 per cent of Huron's tabour force." A number of activities, demon- strations and seminars are slotted for Small Business Week including an open house of the Huron Bust- • ness Centre each day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Thursday where they are open until 9 p.m. A seminar on how to start a small business will be held on Oct. 22, 23 and 24 at the Centre as well as demonstrations on strategies as a cntical business re- source. A small business start-up kit as well as a Starting a Small Busi- ness in Ontario book is complimen- tary of the Centre. Business Directory AUCTiONEERS 1101311121Lits • •• Hansall Ont. All types of auctions. .types service. Wiil purchase partial or complete estates. Brad Alousseau Auctioneer (519) 236-4558 inti***** * * * * ** *** It • Men & Ronson! 4 FULLY LICENSED & * BONDED, CALL OR FAX }c ft is 4c * (519) 666-0833 }e 3 Auctioneers for the Price of 1 * • With modern equipment * Pickup and sell complete or partial estates 41 Specializing In Farm, Real 41 • Estate and General Sales 4t4141*.9t.K.i> *********** REPAIRS Sewing Machine) Repairs to all makos . Free estimates 90 Day Warranty Experienced since 1952 Sew and Save Centre Ltd. 149 Downie St., Stratford Phone 271.9680 it • •weer o . egance anace o- nne Middleton displays some of 'the items -she custom de- signs. She is one of the only home-based.lingerie stores that offers custom designed and sewn ldungewear, night wear and lingerie. 1 i l "Sometimes when you duy some- thing from a store land it falls apart on iyou the' next day they won't give you refund pr. return. That •was one thing •1 stipulated when f opened the store. i -had to make • • sure the customer was .completely satisfied." Elegance and Lace opened its doors four years ago and has had two open houses since then. Mid- dleton said the next open house will he held sometime in November. An exact dateTor the open house has not yet bee set. i i 1 RNARD. - caIlP8TER triining centre Internet: www.bernardcomputer.com 2354890 Beside Exeter Plihlw School 1•C Ilard ware & Trouble Shooting Level 1 NOV. 10 - Dec. 15 I'(' Hardware \ Tre>7tble• Shooting Level •, \nt: 19 - hoc•. 17 \ 114 rosoft Access 97 Nov. 11 • Dec. 16 DM' I1! 1 225.2645 RR ,#3 c;nnrrm avoid Vpader Hydrae •iwc*lila •rnundat.m • More •Ara'k • 1 ,,"etc Pis•", • liars • ',tem • h•1rY • Van MS • IMntinv ' '..em Ilei*, • 1 m^lvr • Firm deb BAN -WELD • SAW & BLADE LTD. Sales and Service Authorized dealer for Tecumseh and Briggs & Stratton. Authorized M. T D. Service Dealer Sharpening Service and Sarah Engine Repair BILL WILDS -153 Victona St. Crediton. Orli. 339 IS" SMELLIIE DIVES ,�,.,.•5Z99 `x<• catfv Errs eta_Som RCA. Ifs es.lhtachi&~,mfkn For a ee home demonstration Call A-1 ENTERPRISES 14-800-293-2378 Grand Ben.' Tl -IE HOME OF )-HE 11'[[1<... HOME IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST F"ar vc.' 2`181 SQ.FT, [TYNAN DESIGN •.acv "LOOM ••LAI, ,26.1 Do..T 1MEM'L4 CM RaA :i1• 'Q, :, '0' AL. •Lcam i+Mta:as I so. •• ' TRADITIONAL STYLINQ ENHANCES NARROW LOT HOME • A gable style roof, decorative columns, traditional accents" and a covered verandah combine to create a stylish neo -traditional extenor.- Columns frame the entrance to the living room which boasts a 10 foot ceiling height and a boxed out feature window An open plan for the living room and dining room creates a • spacious area for formal entertaining. A combined kitchen and family room offers a less formal country kitchen style atmosphere complete with a handy work island and a cozy fireplace. The den, set apart from the main traffic areas, would make an ideal study room or guest bedroom. A split staircase allows access to the bedroom area from the kitchen or the main hall. • Three secondary bedrooms share a four piece bath. The master features a large walk-in closet and a four piece ensuite with a raised soaker tub. An unfinished basement awaits yourown creative touch. Plans for U-1003 may be obtained for $465.00 for a package of rive complete sets of working prints and 340.00 for each additional set of the same plan. Allow 315.00 extra to cover the cost of postage and handling (B.C. residents add applicable sales tax to plan total) (All Canadian residents add 7% GST to plan total plus postage and handling). 'This is one o1 our new designs. Many innovative plans are now available in our NEW catalogue: Two Storey Homes 2000 to 2500 sq. ft., which is available for 38.51 including postage and handling and 7% GST. Please make all cheques, money orders, and Visa and MasterCard authorizations payable to: Tynan Design inc. c/o Exeter Times Advocate Plan of the Week. 13659. 108th Avenue, Surrey B.C. V3T 2K4. 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