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Times Advocate, 1995-07-12, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, July 12, 1995 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett Business Manager: Don Smith Production Manager: Deb Lord Advertising' Barb Consitt /Yews; Heather Mir, Chris Skalkos, Ross Haugh, Brenda Burke production; Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Robert Nicol, Brenda Hern, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner, Marg Flynn Transvortation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgert Front Office & Accounting; Elaine Pinder, Sue Rollings, Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple The Exeter Times -Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers 00,0•• °; Mph.,, providing news, advertising and information leadership • ri91a9 1•tisol"C`t,t s _.,. • • �1= acw new Pubs s Mall Registration Number 0386 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: CANADA Within 40 miles (85 km.) addressed to non letter carrier addresses 833.00 plus 82.31 G.S.T. Outside 40 riles (85 km.) or any letter carrier address 833.00 plus 830.00 (total 83.00) + 4.31 G.S.T. Outside Canada 899.00 plus 86.93 OST (Includes 888.40 postage) Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 156 by 1.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Teaphoae 1-519-235-1331 • Fax: 519-235-0766 O.S.T. M1105210835 Scrapping photo radar foolish ake something that works well and is making lots of money -- and throw it away! Doesn't make much common sense, does it? And yet new Ontario Premier Mike Harris, following through on one of his many popular campaign promises, says photo radar will be history by the end of the month. Harris says it is not re- ducing accidents and is a tax grab. Does it reduce accidents? Studies show photo radar works. Ed- monton statistics suggest photo radar cut accidents between six and 32 per- cent at five locations last year. Calgary police credit photo radar with helping • trim fatal accidents from 49 in 1986 to 30 in 1994. Other centres across the country are now purchasing photo radar equipment, including British Columbia, Leth- ' bridge, Alberta and Winnipeg, B.C. plans to purchase 30 of the units right away. And a preliminary study from the On- tario Ministry of Transportation showed photo radar units slowed 15 to 42 percent of speeding motorists at six test sites during its first four months. More comprehensive data was sched- uled to be released August 15, the pro- gram's first anniversary. But Mike can't wait. Is it a tax grab? No question . The province has earned anywhere from $12 to $16 million in fines in less that a year, and that's with just four vans containing the cameras -- three in greater Toronto. But obviously the province needs mon- ey to operate. And that need will not de- cline under Premier Harris, who faces among other things: an 8.7 percent un- employment rate, 1.3 million people on social assistance, threats of another eco- nomic downturn as early as next year, 43.6 million in cuts to federal transfer payments, a provincial debt nearing $100 billion, and a promise on top of that to cut income tax. Critics have called photo radar a tax on speeding. What's so different about that compared to tax on cigarettes, booze, in- come, property, and virtually every pur- chase we make. At least we have an option not to pay this tax, unlike so many others. If you don't want a speeding ticket, don't speed. It's just that simple. If nothing else, photo radar brought a measure of sanity, at least a psychologi- cal one, to the busiest and most nerve- wracking traffic corridor in North Amer- ica. Sr. Marys Journal -Argus Your Views Letters to the editor' Chatham to celebrate 100th "So please, won't you come home too?" Dear Editor: To all former Chathamites: The year 1995 marks Chatham, Ontario's birthday. The Chatham Centennial Committee would like to take this opportunity to invite all former Chat- hamites to come back to Chatham to celebrate the Centennial Homecoming Weekend, August 11 to 13, in beautiful Tecumseh Park. The Committee has been planning the festivities for months and nothing has been left to chance. Some of the activities scheduled for the weekend • 100th include: A Children's Festival, High School Reun- ions, Craft Fair, Horse-drawn Wagon Rides, 1895 Fashion Show, Contests, including a Battle of The Bands and much more. Be entertained by such stars as Billy Joe Royal, Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & The Raiders, Re- becca Holden and Sylvia Tyson. Yes - Sylvia Tyson is coming home for the week- end and will give a concert in the park on Sunday evening as part of the closing ceremonies. So please, won't you come home too? For more information please call Altana Gillam - Wright at (519) 354-9177. Sincerely, The Chatham Centennial Committee • • • WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND? • • • The Times Advocate continues to welcome letters to the editor as a forum for open discussion of local issues, concerns, complaints and kudos. WE ASK THAT YOU KEEP YOUR LETTERS TOA joaumuALQE3QQA00, The Times Advocate reserves the right to edit letters for brevity. Please send your letters to P.O. Box 850, Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S6. Sign your letter with both name and address. Anonymous letters will not be published. A View From Queen's Park • . By Eric Dowd TORONTO - Mike Harris has put so-called personal freedoms ahead of saving lives on highways -- and shown he has a short memory. The Progressive Conservative premier almost immediately he got in the driver's seat abol- ished photo radar, which a New Democrat gov- ernment brought in last August to catch speed- ing drivers who cause many accidents. Harris insisted he has seen no evidence that photo radar has improved highway safety, but his windshield needs a good wash. A transportation ministry study found that in the first five months of photo radar the propor- tion of vehicles travelling faster then the speed limit dropped between 15 and 42 percent at six test sites and those travelling at much higher speeds dropped even more dramatically. Deaths on highways last year decreased from 752 to 634, although restrictions on new drivers and more airbags in cars also were factors. Pho- to radar also has been shown to reduce speed- ing and save lives in many jurisdictions. 1 Memory loss begins early Are you one of us who is get- ting older and you swear you just can't remember anything anymore? We recently ran across re- search which says you do start forgetting things as early as in your 30's, but only certain kinds of things. But, the good news is that you can train yourself to remember them. These are two of the notable findings of some new research at McMaster University in Ham- ilton and the University of To- ronto. Investigator Fergus Craik says aging affects one part of your memory, your conscious recollection of specific events that happened to you. Simple things like where you put the car keys or the name of the person you were just intro- duced to. Aging has little effect on your general knowledge (remember- ing the capital of the Nether- lands) or procedural memory the process you learn through life, such as playing the piano or riding a bicycle. Those kinds of memory will stay with you forever because you learned them not only once , but over and over again or you put the event in the same con- text each time. Craik, a University of Toronto psychologist and associate sci- entist at the Rotman Research Institute of Toronto's Baycrest Centre says the more auromatic it is, the more you will remem- ber it. We know that you never for- get how to ride a bicycle, but you won't remember when you first rode one. Why is itthat.we forget some things and have no .trouble re- membering others? Researcher Craik says explicit kinds of memory such as, "Where did I put my glasses or my car keys?" depend on the frontal lobes of the brain. He says, " From your mid -30's onward, any memory that de- pends substantially on the fron- tal lobes of the brain is in trou- ble.And the things that are most sensitive are things that require unique recall without any clues or hints. Here are the important facts of remembering. How well do you store the information and how meaningful and distinctive do you make it?" Most of us forget because first of all we didn't listen carefully to what has been said or we don't bother to remember it. We probably don't pay enough at- tention to what is being said or don't think it is important enough to remember. One way to get over forgetfull- ness is to make yourself think about where you put something down. When you are introduced to a new person at a party make a mental note or think of a unique way to remember the name. To finish up on the theme of getting older, we will pass on a Prayer for Growing Old which was written by Rev. Eric Beggs of Orillia "Lord, I know you know bet- ter than I that I am getting older. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking that I must say some- thing on every occasion. Re- lease me from craving to straighten out everybody's af- fairs. Make me thoughtful, but not moody, helpful but not bossy. Wtih my store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but you know I want a few friends at the close. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are in- creasing and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I do not ask for improved memory but for growing humili- ty and a lessening sureness, when my memory seems to clash with the memory of oth- ers. Teach me the glorious lesson that I may be mistaken. Keep me reasonably sweet because a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpecteed places and talents in unexpected people and give me, 0 Lord, the grace to tell them so. Amen. Photo radar has flaws. It does not stop cars, so tickets are sent to owners who may not have been drivers, but should take some responsibili- ty. Photo radar also does not detect drivers com- mitting other offences such as tailgating and changing lanes without signalling, but has nev- er been held out as a cure-all. Hams will try to deter speeding and the other offences by having more highly visible police cruisers, which obviously is worthwhile. But he could have these cruisers as well as photo ra- dar, which has proven effective. Photo radar also can catch 50 speeders in the time it takes a cruiser to pull one over and write out a ticket, so it is much more cost-effective and Harris has just won an election promising to save money. But Harris had made it one of his Command- ments to scrap photo radar from the moment the NDP announced it and his mind since has been closed. The Tories argued accurately that Harris keeps promise to scrap photo radar the NDP brought in photo radar partly to make money. But they railed particularly against photo ra- dar on ideological grounds, calling it creeping socialism, Big Brother, totalitarian, Orwelltan (although it operates in high -Tory Alberta) and an infringement on personal rights. These criticisms echoed those many Tories made when fastening seatbelts had to be forced on a Conservative government in the mid 1970s. Premier William Davis said he would make fastening compulsory after studies show it saved lives. But he ran into a roadblock of many of his own MPPs and supporters, who complained it was 'insidious government con- trol' and told of relatives' lives saved because they were not wearing seatbelts. MPP Jim Taylor warned ominously 'if the government climbs into the car, it will be climbing next into the bedroom and who knows where that may lead?' As the 1975 election approached, the Davis government put itself in reverse and said that while fastening seatbelts undoubtedly saves lives, it would not make it compulsory because too many were against and instead would edu- cate people to wear them. But then the Tories lost their majority, the Liberals introduced a private member's bill to make fastening compulsory which had NDP support and a new Tory transportation minister, Jim Snow,,quickly jumped in with his own lax to make fastening compulsory, saying the pub- lic was now more inclined to accept. A year later Snow was boasting his seatbelt law had caused a 'dramatic decline in the num- ber of drivers and passengers killed.' If the Tories had been allowed to stick to their credo that rugged individualism matters more than highway safety, a lot of people would not be,alive today -- how many lives will now be lost because today's Tories scrapped photo radar? 4 • t.