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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1986-12-31, Page 4Page 4--CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1986 The Clinton News-Rocord Is published ouch Wednesday at P.O. Boa 39, Clinton. Ontario, Canada, NOM 11.0. i01.1482-3443. Subscription Rata: Canada - 621.00 Sr. Citizen - 614.00 por year U.S.A. foreign 660.00 per year It Is registered as second class mall by the post Wilco under the permit number 0417. The Nows-Record Incorporated In 1924 thotteron News-dtecord. founded In 108.1, and The Clinton News Era. Pounded In 1843. Total press runs 3,700. Incorporating THE SIXTH STANDARD ANNE NAREJKO - Editor FREDA McLEOD - Office Manager SHELLEY McPHEE HAIST - Reporter DAVID EMSLIE - Reporter JANICE GIBSON - Advertising LAUREL MITCHELL - Circulation/Classified GARY HAIST - General Manager A Display advertising rates available on request. Ask for Rate Card No. 13 effective Oc- tober 1,1984. Look forward to new year The year 1986 will soon be history. All of the triumphs and tragedies will be put in the history books and slotted in our memory banks. All of the things we promised ourselves and others that we would do and didn't do, will be promised once more and hopefully get done during the incoming year. A new 'year is a fresh start, a new beginning. It allows us the chance to get those things done that we didn't do last spring and it provides us with 12 months to keep our New Year's resolutions. A new year also gives us the opportunity to reflect on the past year. We can look at our personal triumphs and say, "Gee, it was a good year," or we can look back at specific events and say, "I'd never do that again:" Whether 1986 was a good year or a bad year, it's soon over. If it was a good year, we can try to make 1987 even better. If it was a bad year, we can definitely attempt to make 1987 better. At midnight on December 31, people around the world will be ringing in the new year, and hopefully, they will remain that happy for the following 364 days. Happy New Year! ! - by Anne Narejko Minister answers questions Dear Editor: I have received a number of calls from small pharmacists in the area expressing concern over the effect they feel the new provincial drug legislation will have on their businesses and on their ability to compete with larger pharmacies. Perhaps the follow- ing will help to clear up some of the misconceptions surrounding this issue: The Ontario Drug Benefit Act (Bill 54) and e Prescription Drug Cost Regulation Act ill 55) came into effect on December 1, 86, marking the beginning of greater con- sumer protection and more realistic drug prices. As a result, both the government, through the drug benefit plan, and cash customers, paid artificially high prices on some drugs. This new law will help solve both problems. Ontario Health Minister Murray Elston also announced that a new, expanded formulary has been published and distributed to pharmacists. In the months to come, the Government will examine other areas of ODB policy, namely, Special Authorization for non- formulary drugs, oxygen reimbursement, and most important of all, the subject of ap- propriate drug utilization. The latter is a major concern since last year, despite a "frozen" formulary and dispensing fee structure, because program growth remain ed at an unacceptably, high percent. If the Government is to continue providing universal coverage for approved drugs to seniors at no charge, or to consider expan- sion of eligibility or benefits (in a program now costing about $500 million a year to assist only 15 percent of the population), then we must bring the drug plan under con- trol. To stress this point, "savings" from the elimination of the "price spread" are ex- pected to be largely consumed by the addi- tion of new single -source benefits and by price increases of some existing benefits whose listed costs has been the same since January 1985. Finally, it must be pointed out to concern- ed pharmacists and consumers that the Best Available Price (BAP) pricing concept was developed and promoted by the Ontario .r Pharmacists' Association. It was understood by the drug wholesalers who supported the BAP concept that it would ad- dress carrying charges such as those levied by the wholesale distributors. This has had a considerable effect on the government's drug pricing plans. The new law will ensure that all pur- chasers of drug products are able to buy the same quantity at the same price, with no disadvantage to wholesalers, independent pharmacists -or other groups. The drug cost mechanism in the new legislation is different than originally pro- posed by the government. One concern the government has had from the beginning is that a rigid definition in the Act itself might limit flexibility in dealing with unforeseen marketplace issues as the system adjusts to the new legislation. The financial viability of independent pharmacies is the priority of the govern- ment. In the event that a pharmacy pro- vides evidence of an inability to purchase a drug product at the ODB reimbursed price, the pharmacists may claim acquisition cost under subsection 6 (3) of the ODB Act. Similiarly, the independent pharmacist will be able to establish a unique "usual and customary" fee in the cash market in order to address individual needs. The Government is convinced that the regulations under the new Acts will strengthen the pricing mechanism and eliminate past weaknesses in the system. Proclamation of the legislation and provi- sion of an updated Formulary should resolve a number of related issues that have been with us for several years. The Ministry of Health will continue to monitor the situation closely immediately after proclamation, and will discuss any significant issues with representatives of the profession and the industry as has been their practice in the past. I hope the above information will help to allay some of the concerns expressed to my office regarding' the drug pricing legislation. Elnne Marejko No resolution All of the carefully wrapped presents have been opened, all of the food has been devoured and all of the relatives have returned home - Christmas is over. This year Christmas was a bit different for our family. Instead of everyone converg- ing on my parents' home, they all made tracks for Highway 8 to spend Christmas in Huron County. And good thing they did as Brantford would have provided them with a green Christmas. Up here, the snow made it seem more like the day we are used to. What they say about Christmas being for kids is true. My two-year-old nephew may have problems pronouncing Santa Claus' name, but he sure knows what the guy's all about and he knows those pretty packages under the tree hold surprises. I played Santa Claus this year and made a major mistake in giving out Tyler's presents..Wanting to ease the little guy's ex- citment, I gave him the biggest present first. This present happened to be a red Jack Riddell, M.P.P. Huron -Middlesex Minister of Agriculture and Food We need peace Dear Editor: With earnest anticipation we look forward to 1987. New resolutions will be made with the utmost sincerity and intent. The year that's past has quickly run its course and we are left to consider last year's "New Year's resolutions". Have we kept them? Even the "United Nations" failed to achieve their declared and well-intentioned "Year of Peace".. Nearly 50 wars now rage throughout the globe. A million dollars is spent every minute on weapons and 60 million people are employed in the manufacture of munitions and armaments. Here, within our peaceful country, there are many cold and hungry people. This is a sad commentary on our "Christian civiliza- tion". Commercialism, revelry,- and selfishness abound. This is in contrast to the teaching of .Jesus Christ, whose name has Neer replaced with an "X". In the interests of advertising brevity, a sacred Name is in - wagon which Daddy has to construct. Once Tyler found the wheels, bars and screws, he forgot about the other presents Santa, grandparents and aunts and uncles had carefully selected for him. Hds only concern was playing with the wheels and the screwdriver. Oh well, next year I'll know better. But now that Christmas is over, it's time to start thinking about the new year - 1987. It's time to start anticipating the regular duties at the newspaper. Regular duties in- clude the weekly routine while special events take in the bridal edition, Klompen Feest edition and Threshermen's special to name a few. I don't know of any townships in our coverage area which are celebrating a sesquicentennial in 1987 so that will make our year a little easier. Although sesquicentennial editions have to be one of the most exciting and in- teresting editions we work on, they also re- quire a lot ,of extra work on top of the regular paper, so after Goderich Township, Tuckersmith Township and Stanley Township, not having to do one will be a welcome relief. I must say I don't like the idea of the year coming to an end. It means I'll be one year older, I'll have to start the yearly routine again and I'll have to get used to writing the word January instead of December. ( I always have problems when the months change. ) But at the same time, it means a fresh start, a chance to do things differently and 12 months of unexpected surprises and adventures. As for goals or resolutions, I'm not sure I have any specific ones in mind. I guess I'll • just try to do everything a little better than I did it last year and perhaps give up a few undesirable habits. Anyhow, I usually break my resolutions within a week or so. 1987 promises to be a good one for Clinton and area, and I hope it's a good year for all our readers. suited and devalued. How can we ignore Christ after having sung the carols and read the miraculous ac- count of his birth? We have only ourselves to blame if we do not know and practice what God truly expects of us. And sadly it is ob- vious that many Church leaders are unable to provide clear spiritual leadership based on solid Bible teaching. But this should not prevent us from learn- ing about God's plan and purpose for this earth; to fill it with His glory. In the Bible, in Luke 1:32, Christ was destined to inherit the throne of His Father David, to rule over the House of Jacob, and to be given a Kingdom. And each of these three promises is eternal. The greatest prophecy is still to be fulfill- ed: Christ's return to the earth to rule in lasting peace from .Jerusalem. Please resolve to read the Bible in 1987 to discover God's truth and watch for the signs of Christ's return. Got an opinion? Write a letter to the editor BOY,APAI?rMEAir & ON'5e RE BE1475 NoLLoe) Lots , fir. )) • -CANAD • =SUPER POS'C- i i• , %/iYj /. % .+y,a..w,,.;, ,.._.4,....• U .410 i.J ' ShQIIey McPhee Ilciist And a partridge in a pear tree I like the idea of Christmas lasting 12 days, just like the song says. I make Christmas last as long as possible. I'm still playing Christmas music on the stereo. I'm still wrapping Christmas gifts, in fact I'm still making Christmas gifts. I'm eating shortbread cookies and turkey sand- wiches for breakfast, lunch and supper. I'm spending the week between Christmas and New Year's as I always do - trying to make Christmas last a little bit longer. Christmas always ends all too soon. It comes to such an abrupt halt. After all the build-up and hype throughout the month, come December 25, its all over - just when I'm getting into the swing of things. This year I'm enjoying an extra long Christmas celebration, in fact I'm only halfway there. We've held our Christmas celebrations with my family in Goderich, now we're gearing up for turkey and trimmings, wrap- ping paper and gifts with my husband's family. Gary's family laves in Stoney Creek, close to a three hour drive from Clinton. We had the option of driving to The Creek on Boxing Day to spend Christmas with the Haists, then turning around and heading home the same day in order to be to work here at the newspaper on the 27th. This year instead, we've opted to slightly postpone Christmas with the Haist family until we can all be together and we can en- joy a couple of days visiting with our relatives. Each year, Gary and I remark how lucky we are to not only have one joyous Christmas celebration, but, two of them. Our Christmas celebrations are always filled with family and friends, food and good times. In the McPhee family, our Christmas traditions include attending the early even- ing services at church, and, afterwards returning home to feast on a meal of hot beef pie, sweet potatoes and English trifle. It's always a huge meal, we all eat too much. We spend the remainder of the evening sitting by the Christmas tree, enjoying the look of its sparkling lights and the lovely presents underneath. We're all in bed by 10 o'clock. Christmas morning hears the door bell ringing about 9 a.m. as my sister and brother-in-law and their furry, burry dog ar- rive with more presents in tow, Coffee, juice, and English muffins are served and everyone finds a spot by the tree for the gift opening fun. Mum carefully unwraps all her presents, trying to save all the pretty Christmas paper for another year. I gleefully rip and tear at my parcels. My sister and brother-in-law wrestle with the dog for their presents. The dog thinks that presents are for eating. Gary saves all his presents. We're always cleaning up the Christmas wrapping paper and he's just begun to open his gifts. A Christmas breakfast of eggs and bacon; work to get the turkey in the oven; an after- noon nap; some piano playing, carol sing- ing; a Christmas Day feast and an evening watching old movies on television are part and parcel of our Christmas traditions. Then, it's off to the Haist household for Christmas Part Two where everyone awaits our arrival so the festivities can get underway. The tree is already jam packed with presents by the time we arrive, and still, we are always able to find a little more room to incluse ours. Gary's mother is in the sewing room, working on last minute gifts. His sisters are in the kitchen preparing delightful Christmas cookies and candies. By late afternoon we crowd into the living room for gift opening. It's amazing how much noise 10 people can make at one time. Each year we start with a plan that has each person to open one gift at a time. This, we reason, allows everyone the opportunity to enjoy watching others open their gifts,. and, it makes the gift opening fun last even longer. Somehow our plan never works, we get piled high with presents, everyone is anxious to open their own gifts, and the en- tire plan ends up in delightful bedlum. The turkey has been roasting in the oven all day. It is traditionally served with Mom Haist's mushroom and thyme dressing. We all eat too much and get stomach aches. So, between main course and dessert, we walk around the block, hoping to wear off some of the dressing and mashed potatoes to make room for pie. There's usually blueberry, cherry and lemon to choose from. Oh and yes, there's those cookies and can- dies to eat and Dad Haist's homemade wine and mead to sip on. Our Christmases are always important and. joyous family celebrations. We're lucky. There's never any bickering between Gary and I over whose family we'll have turkey dinner with. We don't have to go through the rigors of attempting to please both sides of the family by eating two, Christmas meals in one day. Our families® are more than willing to accommodate our Christmas working schedules. We all agree that it's not the actual date that's important when we celebrate Christmas, it's being together as a family one and all that really counts. Still, here it is December 29 and I really must get cracking. With a sweater I'm knit- ting yet to be completed and gift wrapping still to finish, perhaps I'm stretching my Christmas luck just a little too far. But, I can't get into the Christmas spirit at the first of December, heck, I'm just now getting all 12 verses down pat for "A Par- tridge In A Pear Tree."