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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1996-06-12, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, lune. 12, 1996 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett Business Manager. Don Smith Production Manager: Deb Lord advertising Barb Consitt, Chad Eedy News; Heather Mir, Chris Skalkos, Ross Haugh, Brenda Burke Baiductlon; Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Brenda Hem, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner Flynn. AI Hodgart Front Office & Accounting. Elaine Pinder, Sue Rollings, Ruthanne Negrjin, Mita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple Al The Exeter Times -Advocate Is a member of a family of community newspapers providing news, advertising and information leadership • • A tangled mess hatever happened to "disen- tanglement"? If your memory can go back past talk of provincial tax cuts and federal fudging on the GST, you'll re- call disentanglement was the policy that was supposed to clear up the lines of responsibility of local and provincial governments, giving more to the local governments in some areas, taking the cost of other programs away. But if the rumors circulating among municipali- ties are true, the provincial government seems to be disentangling its own hand; while leaving municipalities with their hands tired by expense and red tape. Rumors surfacing recently said the government may be planning to charge rural municipalities for OPP services. Already last fall's economic statement dumped more of the cost of roads on municipalities as the provincial govern- ment tried to trim its costs. It seems that only one half of the equation is in play here: the province saves money by dumping expenses on the municipali- ties. The idea behind disentanglement makes sense; let the people who get the service pay for it. But the rumored cost of the policing charge, up to $200 per household, doesn't correspond with the service rural municipalities get. A charge of $2 per household might be better. ffybil live in a rut I fost►riship -ff': you'll be luckyif you see a police cruiser go down your road once a year (and then you wonder which of your neighbor's kids got in trouble this Pubikatlon$ MW Rel$tration MMnbsr 0396 One year rats nerawe $$LOO + OST Two year rate for Ontario awuorwr• - SO3.00 + QST pinion One year aubsoriptkrl • .00 + QST Two year eubsoriptloa - =318.00 + QST Outside Canada - $$l.9O + OST PrMMrad ltaIk Wednesday et 424 Mu $t., 1 1•• a 1 Ltd.ram time). Even in villages like Blyth and Brussels, the $200 per household would be a huge chunk of the local budget, while the service provided would be a pale limitation of the policing larger mu- nicipalities get either through contract- ing the OPP for service of through their police departments. What the rumor policing charge sounds like is one of a growing number of cases where government agencies try to protect their budgets by dreaming up "user fees" that just shift the tax burden. Federally, for instance, an agency has been set up which will charge fees to the testing of new farm chemicals and build a new bureaucracy based on a govern- ment -mandated user -pay system. It would be nice to think that someone has really stopped to envision what our. country will look like when this govern- ment downsizing if finished. What we seem to be getting, however, is a situa- tion where politicians and bureaucrats protect their backside; the powerful will maintain security while the weak get clobbered. The federal government has protected itself by shifting costs to the provinces; the province is off-loading costs onto the municipalities; and the municipalities, who have the least clout, have to live with the chaos. Disentanglement implied there wra§,, some commomsens"e �etimdr"o`er �� fold& nil -011e -handed digetititgleitifni gives to impression of common senses: just a head -long rush to shift costs. The North Huron Citizen Your Views Letters to the editor Cancer Society campaign a success The mission of the Canadian Can- cer Society is the eradication of cancer .... Dear Editor: Thank you! To residents of Exeter, Henson, Zu- rich, Usborne and Stephen Township; Exeter and area businesses; canvassers, team captains, cam- paign convener; students of South Huron District High School. You have all contributed in making the 1996 cam- paign a tremendous success. Last year the total was $9,330 and this year $18,036. has been raised in our community. May this letter express to each one of you our sincere gratitude for your donations, sup- port, and the willingness to volunteer your time on our behalf. A special thank you is extended to Fran Ritchie for excellent leadership as Campaign Con- vener. The missibnof the Canadian Cancer Society is the eradication of cancer and the enhancement of the quality of life of those living with cancer. Your gen- erosity will most certainly assist us in making our mission possible. Sincerely, Pat Chovancek, Exeter Branch, ' Canadi Soc' s S.A.T. WELFARE RMERPIuN11NG Student job connection... By Tonya Riehl - Student Etnpioyment Officer Students - market yourselves! The May Statistics are in! Huron County student job vacancies through our offices have increased by 156% over May 1995. The changes made to our operations account for some of this increase, but the outlook for students still looks better than ever. Despite this positive news, there are stills o': plenty of students who ate looking for summer work. For employers wanting to hire students, using the Canada Employment Centre for Students makes their job easy. Our services range from posting a job and having students apply directly to them to as much as prescreening and referring students who we think will do the job well. For those students who are looking for, work, as I mentioned last week, the place to start is at the Canada Employment Centre for Students. Hereyou pa fill out a registration card, checkout the postings, and pick up some pamphlets to help you with your jobsearch. But this is only the first step, then it is time to "market yourself." Marketing yourself is making yourself stand out from the competition. You have three main tools to sell yourself: your resume, your covering letter, and your interviewing skills. With these tools you need to convince the employer that you are the best person for the job. Convince them by promoting your skills, your unique abilities, sand your personality. Marketing yourself is an essential part of any job search. In order to market yourself effectively it is important to have an organized and professional plan for looking for work and contacting employers. This plan is similar to a marketing plan that a company would prepare for marketing a product. A company's goal is to sell a product, while your goal is to sell yourself and get a job. A company is targeting specific customers with their plan, while you're targeting specific employers with your plan. When targeting a specific group, be it customers or employers, you must determine what they are looking for. The Conference Board of Canada's Employable Skills Profile outlines what employers as a whole are looking for. No one employee is expected to be perfect, but the more of these skills you possess, the more a stude TORONTO -- The most closely watched poli- tician in Ontario sits on the humble back bench- es and if he took one more step would be out- side the door. While Progressive Conservative Premier Mike Harris pushes the province through its biggest changes in memory, eyes are fixed momentarily at least on a new Liberal MPP, Gerard Kennedy, who won a byelection in a riding that had long been a New Democrat- ic Party stronghold. Kennedy is being scnttinized because the Lib- erals have a leadership convention in Novem- ber to replace Lyn McLeod, who is stepping down after losing an election in 1995, and the Liberals are likely to be seen as the alternative if voters grow annoyed at the Tories, because NDP overspending is too recent a memory. Senior Liberal MPPs,inchtding all their for- mer cabinet ministers, have one after the other ruled themselves out of running because of one or more of a lack of zest or capacity, health problems or quibbling with party policy. Six Liberal MPPs, all relatively junior and four of them elected for the fust time only last year, have hesitatingly made it known that they are interested, and they include some solid and even promising members. But none has managed to excite the party or public by performances in the legislature or outside, although there is still a lot of time for them to do so: Harris was considered uninspir- ing before and while running for leader, but five years later swept the province. Kennedy has brought built-in excitement with him. He won a riding that the Liberals had not won since it was created in 1926 and this naturally has given his party new enthusiasm. The Liberals have not had much experience of winning since being tossed out of govern- ment by the NDP in 1990. They have been of- ten far ahead in polis, but this had not brought tangible victories, and a win of any sort is something they crave. Kennedy's win was nt. likely you will find a job. Employers want people who communicate well, both verbally and in writing, and those who can listen to and understand instructions. They also want people who can solve problems and make decisions. The ability to use technology and a desire to learn new things, are two more sought after skills. How you act is also very important. Some desirable attitudes and behaviors are: confidence, honesty, responsibility, adaptability, respectfulness, and creativity. Employers are also seeking people who are energetic and well organized. Nearly every job requires you to work with other people. Employees need to know the value of teamwork, contribute to common goals, be willing to "give and take", and know how to lead and how to follow. The skills and attitudes mentioned here are by no means comprehensive, but should give students a good idea of what employers are looking for. Highlight these skills on your resume, your covering letter, and during interviews. During the next three weeks I will focus on each of these tools in turn, so keep reading. Until next time! Kennedy turns back Tories 'one Liberals could savour because he might have been expected to beat the NDP, which is struggling to regain its feet and did not have a candidate of the reputation of former leaders Ted Jolliffe, Donald C. MacDonald and Bob Rae, who represented the riding successively. But Kennedy also turned back the tide of the Totes, who supposedly are on a roll because they have reduced spending, done well in polls and cut taxes as promised just before the bye - lection. Harris also campaigned for his party and attacked Kennedy personally, so it can be made to seem like Kennedy beat Hams. Winning byelections has sometimes been a stepping stone to running for leader. Dianne Cunningham took a seat from the Liberals in a byelection in 1988 and it made her a strong candidate for leader against Hams in 1990. Liberal Robert Nixon won a byelection in 1962 that later helped him become leader. Kennedy is 35, modern and attractive -looking on TV and articulate. There was naturally huge interest in seeing if he had the right stuff when he asked his first question in the legislature a few min- utes after taking his seat. It was appropriate- ly to Harris and tried to embarrass the Tories on the thorny issue of how they are going to change rent controls to encourage building while at the same protecting tenants, but Hams evaded it and nothing conclusive could be read into the exchange. It will be argued that Kennedy lacks expe- rience as an MPP, but this has not always been a barrier to leadership. Stuart Smith won a seat in a general election in 1975 and four months later the Liberal party chose him leader and the runner-up was David Peterson, later premier, who had spent a similarly short time in the leg- islature. Kennedy, as former director of To- ronto's food bank, also has views to the left of the Liberals' in the 1995 election, which moved right to rival Harris. But none of this is insu- perable if Kennedy can perform well, because the Liberals will be looking above all for a win- ner.