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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-08-24, Page 4rt S. T y +• _r4 • 1 YKES J '!Y The aging process wag a relentless and consistent battle against everyone each and 'every day. It's a losing battle, of course, and one that yu[nsgeripts our participation despite protests tQ the contrary. Some, age better than Others: This correspondent, for instance, portrays a youthful visage that belies its many years of existence In subsequent years, I will no doubt dome -to appreciate, the fact that I hide my age quite well. Growing upwith a baby face, though, is another story. Aging; still, IS a traumatic experience for many and each passing milestone serves as a constant reminder that life is brief. That it is but a fleeting experience. The milestones that mark the aging process are many and varied. At 18 years of age, a person is considered an adult but just 12 years later, at age 30, a person is said to be entering middle age and on the downside o of ,,pa f teor others, -life begins at 40. medtl�ly`uae the kids,are finally leaving home and peau and quiet looms large on the hoiizon: Age,. t haan been said, is a simply a state•of a the mind may be active and willing,: ,'body doesn't always cooperate. 'decently I ran across an item that depicts life foe° that average person alter 40, I took the llbert3rof adding to list. You Wyou'regetting old when:, Everything hurts and what doesn't hurt refuses to work. The gleam in your eye is from the sun streaming down on your bifocals. You wake upand feel like the night before, and you haven't even been -anywhere. Your little 'black book contains only the names of people ending in M.D. You get pooped out just playing chess. Your children begin to look middle-aged. Your mind takes contracts your body can't meet. You finally know all the answers but nobody asks to questions ymore, Your knees stil1. bu but your belt won't, Dialing long distance seems to wear you out. Your back goes out more than you do. Now you turn mut the light for economic reasons rather than romantic ones. You :just remembered today that yesterday was your wedding anniversary. You are somewhat startled the first time you are addressed. as "old timer". You burn the midnight oil after 9 p.m. on weekends. You sink your teeth into a steak and they stay there. Your pacemaker makes the garage door go up and down when you see an attractive young lady walk by. - You remember that you should get excited et the eight of an attractive mehriber'of the opposite'asex but you forget why. You have too much room In the ho4se andt not enough room in the medicine cabinet, You finall get to drive your own car because,the kids have grown up and moved When taking a nap is now more of ail' necessary habit than a luxury. You have to sit up for a few daays'after just tabout exercise. When children and granchildren ask you about the quality of life in the "olden days' when you were a kid". You can remember the names of musical groups and movie and television stars that the younger generation never heard of. The kid who used to be your paper boy now owns the company, you work for. Mid finally, you know you're getting 'Old when people seek your advice because you are experienced. eNA BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1983 Second dos:: mail registration numbe 0716 SINCE 1848 THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH 8, DISTRICT rounded In 1141 end published ovary Wednesday et Ooderich, Ontario. Member Of the CCNA and CANNA. Adam.. lilting rotes on request. Suburiptions payable in advance '19.90 In Canada, 'SO.00 to U.S.A., 41.010 to all other count- +tyles, single copies SOD. Display advertising rateiovailable on request: Please ash for Rote Cord No.13 effective Oc- tober 1, 1412. Second class moll Registration -Number. NM. Advertising is accepted on the condition that In the event of typographical error, the advertising span occupied by the erroneous Item. together with reasonable allowance for signature, will not be c,.rded for but'hot balance of the advertisement will be paid for et the ap- plicable rote. In the scent at o typographical error advertls/ng goads or services at a Svrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising Is merely on Offer to sell. and may be withdrawn of any time. The Signal -Star Is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts. photos or other matsrlolt used for reproducing pur- poses. mat: Solt BY: SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING CIMITEO ROBERT G. SHRIER-President and Publisher DONALD M. HUBICK-Advertising Manager DAVID SYKES-Editor P.O. BOX 220, HUCK INS ST. INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH N7A 486 torOOOIO FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES please phone (519) 524-8331 Use taxes, not fees Health, and even health care, are far too often taken for granted in Canada. We can boast of having some of the finest and most modern medical facilities and, no doubt, some of the most experienced and educated doctors and researchers. Yet while health care is of the highest standards, we have difficulty in coming to grips the financing. A Gallup poll released this week indicated the majority of Canadians prefer high taxes or fees rather than a user fee system to pay for rising health costs. The poll suggested that 47 per cent of the public preferred the implementation off a higher tax system while 39 per cent indicated they would pay a user fee system for health sery ices. Some provinces already have a user fee system in place for hospital beds and some mergency service. Federal Health Minister Monique Begin has made it clear to those provinces charging user fees that the federal government is in complete disagreement. She has gone- so far as to threaten to withhold funds if the practice continues. The health care battle has been raging relentlessly for years. The federal government has provided $9.3 billion for provincial health care costs and expects the provinces iff "VA O or W. to maintain universal coverage. The provinces feel it isn't enough and the user fee system is becoming a means of raising the necessary finances to maintain the care. The user fee system does not have universal application though. If rigidly applied, it would only deny health care to people who really need it. Health care cannot be denied simply because of financial reasons and therefor any user fee system would have to exclude those who are terminally ill, the unem- ployed and those on social assistance and senior citizens. If the latest Gallup poll can be used as a reliable barometer of public opinion, then a marked percentage of Canadians are in fa'tror of using taxes to finance the escalating cost of health care. User fees would only act as a deterent in many cases and deny proper and adequate health care to the people who need it most. Some provinces obviously feel that the federal gover- nment is keeping up its end of the bargain with respect to the financing of health care. While provincial govern- ments have every right to act in unilateral fashion and impose fees, the two sides should reach a compromise rather than fling ultimatums around and play games with health care in this country. Others should observe Premier Bill Bennett of British Columbia certainly shook things up a couple of weeks ago when he instituted his program of curtailment in government spending. Whether it was necessary or even politically wise to make the first step so drastic is open to question, but he has Set a pattern which other governments may follow. Several thousand provincial employees will lose their jobs if his announced plans are carried out. It is certainly not good news when anyone is forced out of a job, but ever-growing thousands of public employees threaten the taxpayers with a burden which is becoming unmanageable. British Columbia is not the only region in which the civil service empire has become dangerously large. It is much the same in almost all provincial jurisdictions and certainly in the field of federal affairs. Those governments which have been formed by the same party over a long period of time are the mo dangerous in this regard. Each minister and deputy mister permits his staff to grow larger and larger in the belief that the bigger the army of workers he commands, the more im- portant will his department appear. Most governments are sorely in need of the advice of ef- ficiency consultants who would examine each phase of operations and report on the actual ned for the services being carried out at every level, advise on the most effi- cient way to carry them out and the number of people re- quired to do the various jobs. We suspect that sucfi study, if acted upon, would result in a very large reduction in the public payroll. However, such a thought is mere phantasy. Our governments already have their own ap- pointed auditors and whoever heard of those same govern- ments taking their auditors' advice? Premier Bennett's payroll -slashing sounds very drastic, but the intent is one which other premiers might observe. (Listowel Banner) Evening surf By Dave Sykes DEAR READERS SHIRLEY KELLER ,o Shirley J. Keller is still on vacation and she left word that this column by John Slykhuis of TOPIC Newsmagazine in York Region will Hither spot. John's ,column was titled "Canada crawling with bigots, Star finds" and is done in his usual fine style. John has won many awards for his writings. I'm glad we have the Toronto Star. Without it, my goodness, we wouldn't know about such things as cruise missiles, racial bigotry, pornography, women's rights, criminals' rights, animal rights, Upper Voltan rights, homosexual rights,- fat people's rights, wheat germ eaters' rights... Why the list is simply endless, but the brave Star is doing its very humanitarian best to fill us in on all of them. Just this past Saturday, I was simply appalled, shocked and horrified to learn on the front page that we have a racial problem herein Canada. Indeed yes, several people were interviewed and told chilling stories about being discriminated against because they were black or some other such gradation of brown. At least, they said they were being discriminated against because they were black. Seems funny though, the only thing wrong with some blacks is the fact they are black. They have no other defects that seem to afflict other people. They lose jobs only because they're black. They are refused rental accommodation only because they're black. Police don't like them only because they're black. I have friends who happen to be black. I've also met people whom I didn't want as friends who happened to be black. Some of the latter thought I was prejudiced because of that. Screaming 'prejudice' when the real thing is wrong is something that goes much deeper than skin color? No, I can't believe that! But what the heck, scream 'prejudice' loud and long enough and the Toronto Star and the Ontario Human Rights Commission will leap to your defence, bravely rooting the bigots out of their dark holes and bringing them to justice. Why Ontario simply seems to be crawling with bigots - you need only watch a beer commercial to see that. The Star found that too. Yup. Look closely folks: no black, green, red, or purple types in those commercials - only light browns. I hadn't even noticed before. Now I do. Shocking. Horrifying. Prejudice, here in beautiful York Region? Why, now come to think of it, I once met someone who didn't like me because I was Dutch. And another time I met someone who didn't like thin people. And, oh, now that I think of it, a womalr once told me she hated me because I drink beer and smoke. I think I should let the Ontario Human Rights Commission and the Star know about that. They should do an in-depth study about people who discriminate against thin, smoking, beer - drinking Dutchmen. I'm sure all my misfortunes are a result of those vicious bigots. Thank -you Star. I didn't realize I was being discriminated against until you told me. a Something strikes me as not quite right when Goderich town council decides not to pay for its own advertisement proclaiming September 18th - 24th as "Legion Week" in Goderich, at the same time asking the Mayor -to represent the town at the Annual Decoration Day Service September 18th. There is a cheapness about this policy that I do not think is representative of the general attitude of the people in this town - a cheapness of spirit and style. I am among those who do not feel comfortable with it. When you see a proclamation signed by the Mayor or the Town of Goderich, you probably take it for granted that it was paid for by the town. It was so in the past years. According to the present Council's new policy, the town does not pay for its proclamations. It considers "proclamations requested by individual groups based on individual merit", but makes the group to be honoured pay for the text signed by the town. Perhaps the whole thing is not a really "big deal" one way or another, but the event touches a greater principle and the policy grasps at pretence. It may be a grand idea on the surface, for trying to come across as having the utmost saving of every single penny of our money at heart. However, it would be more impressive and convincing, if such calculated policies of council did not as a rule cover „merely minute amounts within the folds of the total expenditures. Without the money to be paid to the two boards of education and the county, the Town of Goderich 1983 overall budget is in excess of five million dollars. I am not critical of the budget, but I do feel badly that, on our behalf, the few dollars could not be found and spared for a proclamation to honour The Revaal Canadian Legion. Restraint in public expenditures is naturally expected. In the past 1t was always expected and delivered as a matter of course, with less fanfare. Restraint was not invented or discovered by this council. Our taxes went up this year as usual. I am not critical of that. either. But I am beginning to feel some impatience with what looks like a display of politicans' rather low regard for the intelligence of the public. Let us take a closer look at some specific realities of the new proclamation policy. Prior to the recent request by the Goderich Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion to have the "Legion Week" proclaimed, this council faced three requests of similar nature ( and dealt with them in the same manner) in 1983: Ontario Heart Foundation asking to proclaim February as "Heart Month"; Nurses Association of Ontario asking in March that a "Nurses Week" be proclaimed; County Health Unit asking for a "Canada Health Day" declaration in May. After taking office in December last year, the Council paid for the "Save Bluewater Centre Week" proclamation requested by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, The council has not been swamped with dozens of requests worth thousands of dollars. Is the policy, Its minute saving and accompanying restraint comments a convenient window-dressing? If Council came to the sincere conclusion that suddenly the Town of Goderich is doing so poorly that we can no longer do justice to our social responsibilities and to the small graces of civilized interaction, then it was irresponsible of the members to vote themselves a salary increase at the beginning of the year, so promptly after taking office under the auspices of restraint. I am herewith appealing to Goderich town council publicly to review 1) the policy in question, particularly in view of the small number of requests, 2) the decision made concerning the Royal Canadian Legion proclamation, as in my reading the stand taken does not reflect the public's relationship to the Legion. ' To be more truly and flexibly represen- tative of the public values, council members should not only be careful with our money, within reason, but must also acknowledge certain social obligations on our behalf. ELSA HAYDON